How To Paint a Tropical Beach Scene Hideaway

Live Demonstration by Artist Rod Moore

How to paint a tropical beach scene hideaway is a very popular subject matter for many artist. There are many times we have dreamed of living in a tropical paradise and

learning how to paint an oil painting depicting on canvas our visual

excitement of such a paradise is extremely invigorating.

So where should we begin?•Step 1) Painting the SkyThis is the fundamental step for any landscape or seascape painting. The sky and water can meet anywhere on

the canvas. If the horizon line is lower on the canvas, the sky will be

the emphasis, likewise, if the horizon line is high on the canvas, there will be more water, and this will be the

emphasis.

•Step 2) Painting the Water

Now it is time to paint the water in your beach scene. Always use the same colors in the water as

you used in the sky. You will want to darken the colors however.

Starting at the horizon line, paint in a straight horizontal horizon.

•Step 3) Painting the BeachThe easiest way to begin a beach is to add browns to the water area as you approach where the land begins. Remember that water is transparent so begin to add the sand color while decreasing the blue water color. Now you should be almost to the bottom or front of the canvas.

•Step #4) Waves, Rocks and Final Touches

Waves can be indicated by adding small choppy strokes of dark and or

light colors. Variety is the key when it comes to indicating that water is in motion. If you want to create some dramatic movement of waves, you

might want to add some white wave tops by dabbing spots of white

in wave shapes near the front of the painting where the water would be hitting land or rocks. To add rocks, paint some dark "rock" forms near the front of the canvas. Keep the

bottom of the rocks nice and horizontal. Lighten the dark rock

color and highlight each rock, but be careful not to paint over all of the

base color.

Now let’s watch a live demonstration by Australian artist Rod Moore