Chris Campbell Watercolors: Rocks and Water--a stream bed

ROCKS AND WATER-a stream in Gatlinburg, TN

There are many ways to make water effects, but I am going to show how to make rushing water using plastic wrap.

Sketch your picture. Use a wax candle, paraffin, or white crayon to save the whites, especially where you have some foam and at the top of the rocks where the water flows over them.

Wet the water area, keeping the rocks dry. I used cobalt blue as a base color, and then dropped in some violet, turquoise, and some raw umber . While this is wet (shiny, not puddly) stretch some plastic wrap the direction the water is flowing...in this case, horizontally--and lay it over the water area. You can manipulate the plastic wrap a bit to get the ripples you want. Weight the plastic down and allow it to dry on its own for about 15 minutes. (If you remove it too soon, the paint will move and you will lose the effect.)

I treated the rocks as one "formation," painting it all at one time. I started with some ochre, dropped in burnt sienna, some purple for color, etc. , leaving some light areas where the sun would hit. While wet, I lay wax paper over the rocks. The wax paper should be flat, not wrinkled up. The wet paint should hold the wax paper down, but you should put some weight on it until it dries a bit. Again, about 15 min.

Below you can see the painting after the wax paper and plastic wrap have been removed. I've darkened some of the rock where it comes out of the water. The rock on the bottom right is half in/half out of the water. The top edge will get a hard edge, and the bottom edge of the rock will get a softer edge to make it appear to be under the water. Rocks that are totally under water, but visible, will have edges that are a little softer and lighter.

Next week we'll put in a background and shadows in the rocks and do finishing touches.

Plastic wrap can make lots of effects. Below I've stretched some over a mix of browns and purples to create a tree trunk or driftwood. Vertically, it could be rugged mountain or cliffs. The green patch is where the plastic wrap is scrunched into a tight ball and set over wet yellows, greens, and blues. It could be the start of a jungle background or garden with dense foliage.

Simple water with some waves:

Make a graded wash, darker at the bottom, lighter at the top. (Sky is darker at the top, lighter at the horizon; water is usually lighter at the horizon, darker toward the bottom--closer to you)

While damp, make horizontal streaks through the water. In the distance they will be thinner and closer together, disappearing all together toward the horizon. Closer up, the waves will be farther apart and wider. While damp, you can lift a white cap with a thirsty brush.