Water and Shadows in Salies-de-Béarn, France

A student recently asked me how to make river water look real without painting every single ripple. It is a great question because water can be very tricky for watercolour painters. In my new painting, Salies-de-Béarn, France.jpg, you can see how I solve this problem. I use big, loose brushstrokes and let the colours mix right on the paper.

The secret is to watch the reflections and the movement. For the water, I used a warm mix of burnt sienna and yellow ochre near the banks. Then I let it blend into cool cerulean blue and cobalt blue where the sky reflects on the surface. I leave some small bits of white paper dry to show the light sparkling on the moving river. This creates a natural look without adding too much detail.

Look at the old buildings next to the river bank. I used neutral tint mixed with cobalt blue to make the dark, deep shadows under the roofs and bridges. These dark areas are very important because they make the bright yellow ochre walls and the orange cadmium red roofs really pop out in the sun. Painting strong contrast is the best way to show hot sunshine.

For the bright greenery along the river wall, I mixed a touch of viridian green with yellow ochre to keep it looking soft and natural. I also added a tiny figure on the walkway to give the scene some life and show the scale of the large buildings.