Reflections at Fuengirola Marina

Bright warm sunlight fading into a calm blue sky always creates a wonderful challenge when painting harbour water. In this scene of Fuengirola Marina, the early evening light hits the white hulls of the yachts and sparkles right across the quiet surface of the sea. My main goal here was to capture that big contrast between the bright highlights on the boats and the deep turquoise shadows cast in the calm water.

To paint the sky, I used a soft wash of cobalt blue near the top, blending smoothly down into a warm pink tone using alizarin crimson near the horizon line. This soft glow gives a real sense of warmth to the whole background. For the deep reflections, I mixed cobalt blue with ultramarine blue and a touch of burnt umber to keep the darks rich and believable without looking muddy or flat. Leaving untouched white paper for the boat tops creates that instant sunny pop against the dark building shapes.

Water reflections can be tricky if you overthink them. I like to work quick strokes with a full brush while the paper is slightly damp, letting the edges stay crisp in some places and soft in others. Adding a quick dabbing of opaque white paint at the end brings out the tiny sparkle on the ripple lines. It is all about keeping the washes clean and letting the watercolour do the hard work for you.