Bold Boulders

The painting above is of a lighthouse on a rocky shoreline. Lighthouses are always fun to paint. I take photos of them whenever I find one during my travels and bring those photos home to paint later if I have not had the time to paint on location.

Painting the Boulders
I used a 2 inch brush and painted background color on the boulders. I used a wet on wet technique and painted the background of the boulders in a light gray green created from a mixture of Paynes Gray and a little Crimson and Pthalo Green. I added a pale wash of Crimson, Raw Sienna, and Medium Yellow in the center to had some variety in the background of the boulders. This will only show through slightly, but will give you a hint of color and make the boulders more interesting. Let this background wash dry.

Make a thicker mixture of the gray mixture above and using a 1 inch flat brush begin to shape the rocks by painting the dark shapes. The strokes you make with determine the rock shapes. Add a dark crevice and bleed out the color using clean water to fill in the rock.

When you have finished creating your boulders, give them texture by splattering with Brunt Sienna using a toothbrush. Use a #4 or #6 round brush to add in some cracks or interesting detail.

Watercolor Tip
Be certain to let some background color in the boulders show through and let your brush stokes show as well.