How to Paint an Ocean Scene | Acrylic Seascape Painting Tutorial

Learn how to paint an ocean scene using acrylics in this painting tutorial.

Colours Used:

• Titanium white

• Ultramarine blue

• Burnt sienna or burnt umber

I prefer to use Holbein fluid acrylic paints. I like that they are in liquid form thereby not very opaque. This allows me to create layer upon layer of paint quite quickly.

Brushes Used:

• Synthetic flat brushes no. 10, 6 and 2 by Princeton

Let's begin!

1. Firstly I focus on blocking in the main colors and tonal values in my painting with my number 10 flat brush. I start with the sky which is mostly white with a touch of burnt sienna and a little ultramarine blue. I use a strip of tape to create the horizon line. The ocean colour is mostly ultramarine blue with a touch of burnt sienna and a little bit of titanium white. I lighten the sea colour a little as it comes closer by adding more white to the mixture. The sand colour is mostly burnt sienna with a little ultramarine blue and titanium white.

2. I will now add some details to the foreground with my burnt sienna and ultramarine blue mixture to give the impression of some stones and rocks. I will then use my sky mixture to add some foam. Make sure to thin the paint just a little so that the foam appears quite transparent.

3. I will take my sky mixture again and with very little paint on the bristles I will brush back and forth barely touching the canvas to give the illusion of water on the surface covering the stones and rocks.

4. You will see now that I have darkened the wave by adding burnt sienna to ultramarine blue. I have also added waves to the background with my dark blue mixture using my number 2 flat brush.

5. Now I will create a lighter blue mixture with white, ultramarine blue and a touch of burnt sienna and add some lighter brush strokes to the sea. Add more white to the mixture and create some marks to indicate more foam on the surface of the sea.

6. Lastly I will add some white highlights on the sea surface reflecting the crashing wave. I also was not too happy with the sky so I instead created a gradient from light grey to darker grey. This sky colour was achieved using ultramarine blue with some burnt sienna and adding more white as you move from right to left, where the sunlight is coming from.

And that is that. I hope that you got something from this tutorial. The main thing is that you keep practicing as much as you can, learning from your mistakes and you will keep improving. If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me through social media or by email.

Happy painting!

Alan