Painting Quiet Reflections in Dartmouth Inner Harbour

Early morning is my favourite time to look at water in a busy harbour. The air is calm, and the water acts like a smooth mirror. In this painting, Dartmouth Inner Harbour, early morning, towards The Quay, I wanted to capture that feeling of peace before the town wakes up. The light comes from behind the hills, casting long dark shapes across the water and connecting the boats together.

When you paint water reflections, you do not need to paint every small wave. I used cobalt blue and cerulean blue for the cool sky and the soft water at the front. To make the water look deep and still, I painted the reflections using ultramarine blue mixed with burnt umber. This dark mix gives weight to the boats floating on the surface.

The secret to painting a harbour scene is to group the dark areas together. I painted the distant background hill using viridian green mixed with neutral tint so it stays soft and quiet. Then I used cadmium red and burnt sienna to add small pops of bright colour on the boat covers and roofs. These warm spots help to draw your eye right into the middle of the picture.

I added tiny white paint highlights on the tops of the cabin boats to show where the morning light hits the metal and glass. Leaving white paper on the boat tops also makes the surrounding dark reflections look much stronger. It is all about the contrast between light and dark shapes.