River Dordogne at Bergerac, France

The water was so still when I looked out across the River Dordogne at Bergerac. It acted just like a giant mirror for the trees and the sky. In this painting, I wanted to capture that quiet feeling of a summer afternoon. The dark shapes of the trees are very important here. They give the painting a strong focal point and help the white boat stand out. I used a lot of Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna to get those deep, dark greens in the middle of the river.

One question I often get from my students is how to make water look like it is moving slightly. The trick is to use horizontal strokes that break up the reflection. If you look at the foreground, you can see where I used Cerulean Blue and Cobalt Blue. I painted these quickly over the top of the first wash. This creates the look of small ripples on the surface. It is important not to overwork this part or the water will start to look muddy and heavy.

For the sky and the distant buildings, I kept things very light and soft. I used a pale wash of Yellow Ochre and a tiny bit of Alizarin Crimson for the roofs. This makes the background stay in the distance while the dark trees come forward. The little white boat was painted by leaving the white of the paper. I then added a tiny bit of white paint at the very end to make the mast look sharp and bright against the dark leaves.