Patrick McDonnell painting blog

Painting water can be tricky, but there is a trick to it. Water is like a mirror, in some ways, but it has its own physics. Depending on the clearness of the water (water that is transparent lacks bionic matter, so is clear, as in the Caribbean) and how rough the surface is, ripples and waves are caused by wind and currents, and passing ships. Turgid water can vary in color (the Yellow river is yellow in color from the loam in it) and some inland rivers are greenish in tint.

How you make a picture of water look real is by looking at the different tones; water reflections will make shadows lighter and lights darker. This compression of tone makes water look like water. Add on to that, ripples and waves that may be reflecting different parts of the sky, then you may have a darker blue, or even a milky color that is a reflection of clouds. Remember, light passes through water, and so it is not a mirror. There is an intermixing of the cast light and of the reflections; an observant artist will note this. The water of Caravaggio is very simplified, he uses repeated strokes to show the surface is water.