How to Paint a Venice Boat
Watercolor Painting Tutorial

Painting Demonstration 1

I start out with a wash of cobalt blue and cobalt violet watercolor in the "backdrop" of the painting. I want the background to be dull and dark enough to contrast with the water taxi and the water. Too much detail will distract from the boat, so a light hand is needed on the buildings. I want hardly any details, just a general dark blur that wtill needs to recognizably Venice.

A few splashes of nickel azo yellow show where the highlights of the buildings and bridge will be, very soft in the shadows.

Painting Demonstration 2

After the background is painted and slightly dried, it's time to start on the water!

I love painting water and this water is particularly fun. It's choppy and churning back from the deeply shadowed buildings. The boat is causing all the waves so their direction is simple. The wake of the boat bounces from the canal sides, creating some really interesting patterns.

I leave lots of white paper to start with. I reserved some whites with wax crayon and I'll paint some in with gouache, but luminous white paper is the perfect foil for the green waves.

Painting Demonstration 3

While the cobalt teal is still wet, start bleeding in a mix of cobalt teal and nickel azo yellow. Let the pigments flow and separate, creating wave patterns.

I start the boat shadow with cobalt violet and ultramarine blue. I want the hull and the boat shadow to flow together.

Painting Demonstration 4

I paint some strong darks in the bridge shadow with ultramarine blue. I let the pigment flow through the shadows of the other waves. I'm using the shadow to define the back of the boat.

Painting Demonstration 5

I start adding a few more strong darks to the background. It's still a little too pastel to contrast nicely with the water and boat. The bridge needs to be very dark to frame the boat so the background needs to be dark as well.

When I'm painting water, I really let my brush move. The fast action of the brush, the multiple blurring and sharpening of the layers make the water dance.

Painting Demonstration 6

If you want to contrast with bright green water, dull red is a pretty safe bet! The dull warm darks are starting to really set off the green water and are echoed by the bright warm of the boat.

I'm really enjoying painting the boat hull. Deep purplish shadows blurring in the waves contrasting with the golden boat deck. Gorgeous colors here!

Painting Demonstration 7

It's difficult to hold myself to silouettes for the figures and most of the boat. It's so easy to add just a line or two - and end up ruining the simplicity of the boat.

I've added another layer of darker contrast in the waves. Just a few dashed lines, going with the flow

Darkening the bridge emphasizes the darker color echo and frames the boat nicely.