How to Paint Light on Water with Watercolor

How to Paint Light on Water with Watercolor CHRISTINE LASHLEY In this video, I’m sharing how I use quick watercolor studies on location to capture the quality of light I see on the water and carry those ideas back to the studio. Working beside the lake, I was drawn to the shifting light filtering through the clouds, the layers of mountains, the blue sky, and the warm glow appearing across the water. Because the reflected light was too bright for me to comfortably paint directly, I worked from memory and used small watercolor studies to hold onto the moments I wanted to remember. CHAPTERS: 00:00 Introduction 00:31 Finding Inspiration and Staying Focused on Location 01:42 How to Study Light and Simplify the Landscape 03:29 Watercolor Materials and the First Light Study 04:48 Painting Cloud and Mountain Color Relationships 08:00 When to Stop Painting and Is Overworking Okay? 08:37 Final Thoughts 09:05 Conclusion I’ll show you how I begin with simple banded studies to clarify my intent, explore values, and find the important color relationships in the scene. Rather than trying to paint every wave or detail, I’m looking at the larger relationships between sky, clouds, mountains, and water. You’ll see me explore the gold light against purple, the relationship between clouds and mountains, warm and cool color shifts, mountain shadows, and the pale purple gray of the water. I also use colors such as cobalt blue, burnt umber, Hooker’s green, and alizarin to create subtle changes and connect the different parts of the landscape. For me, these quick watercolor studies are not about making beautiful finished sketches. They are a way to experiment, make decisions, and harvest color information and relationships that can later inform a larger painting in the studio. Sometimes a study works beautifully, sometimes it becomes overworked, and that is part of the process. The important thing is to keep trying rather than second-guessing every brushstroke. If you’re learning how to paint light, or trying to get better at capturing light and color in a landscape, I hope this gives you a useful look at the thinking behind my painting process. ------------------------ ABOUT CHRISTINE LASHLEY Christine Lashley is an award-winning American artist renowned for her vibrant plein air oil paintings, which are inspired by nature. Trained at Washington University, the Sorbonne, and Parsons Paris, she blends light, color, and emotion to capture fleeting moments in the landscape. Her work has earned top honors at major plein air events, and she continues to inspire artists worldwide through her teaching and exhibitions. Christine Lashley An American Artist Art Courses: https://www.lashleyartclass.com/ KEYWORDS: how to paint light how to paint light on water how to paint light in watercolor watercolor painting watercolor tutorial how to paint watercolor paint watercolor how to paint painting tutorial light painting learn how to paint how to use watercolor learn watercolor painting watercolor painting tutorial watercolor painting tutorials easy watercolor painting watercolor painting techniques live watercolor painting painting watercolor christine lashley artist #watercolorpainting #howtopaint #paintingtutorial