Wave Sketch, acrylic, 8 x 10in (20.5 x 25.5cm)

Jenny Aitken explains how to make your waves so realistic that viewers will imagine they can hear the sound of them crashing to the shore.

Painting movement, regardless of subject, comes with the confidence of knowledge. The ability to apply loose, throwaway strokes to a scene requires a balance of restraint and abandon.

Having photographed, sketched and stared at the sea as much as I can, I can say I’ve learned one thing – there is no substitute for time spent observing and experiencing it.

The rhythm of the sea can appear chaotic, but there are rules and repeating patterns. Try to discern exactly what you are looking at and how each area is lit... 

• In clear waves, the crests will be backlit and semi-transparent, depending on water clarity.
• The troughs will be darker, showing through hints of the colours beneath.
• The calm sea in between will reflect the colours of the sky. 

Brushstroke direction Tywyn, Anglesea, acrylic on canvas, 15¾x19¾in (40x50cm)

In Tywyn, Anglesea once I’d reduced the chaos to a mental list of colours, it was all about the brushstrokes.

It helped to think about the direction of the water flow. The land, rocks and sea were the calm foil to my noisy water, providing the anchors for the eye to move around. It’s important for the composition to have flatter, soft areas, so that the eye is not overwhelmed with detail.

Brushwork tip: Crashing wave foam is not a thousand little individual dots, it’s a solid force of aerated water. To create that sense of the power and noise of it, use a big brush and don’t dab – smear and smooth that thick paint on without lifting your brush much from the canvas.

For the spray itself, a swift thumb gesture breaks it up beautifully, with a mess of random rigger marks to suggest the water flying about.

Demonstration: Wave Sketch

You will need:

• Brushes: Medium egbert or filbert brush, large flat and small rigger
• Acrylic paints: Titanium white, phthalo green, phthalo blue, sap green, ultramarine blue, lemon yellow, dioxazine purple, cadmium red

Reference photo turned upside down

Step one

I mixed phthalo blue, purple and phthalo green and loosely laid down the composition.

I did this with the reference photograph upside down, which helps me see the actual size of the wave, as often the mind seems to interpret waves as being larger than they are

Step two

With a mix of phthalo green, blue and white, I put down the darker tones of the sea.

I placed the foam on top of this layer later – though I left out spaces for the brightest areas

Step three

I added the warmer tones of the sand-filled foreground with a mix of cadmium red, sap green, yellow and white.

There is also some sap green, mixed with the phthalo green and white, in the crashing foam of the wave.

I used downward strokes for both these areas. The foam was Prussian blue, purple and white – a cold layer on the warmer greens

Step four

I brushed on the lighter foam, mixing white into the foreground colour to create the warm highlight.

The cool highlights on the waves further back were a touch of the Prussian blue mix with white

Step five

I cut the phthalo/white mix of the sky into the horizon at this stage, to avoid the pasted-on effect sometimes caused by putting the sky in first.

I made sure there wasn’t an edge or gap between the sky and the sea.

The merged paint created a slight blur that helped the sense of distance.

I treated the foreground sand, a mix of sap green, yellow, red and white, in the same way, painting into the wavelet.

The brushstrokes in the sand curve towards the viewer, pulling in the eye.

Finished painting

Wave Sketch, acrylic, 8 x 10in (20.5 x 25.5cm)

Before the final flourish, when I go a bit mad with the rigger and lots of tinted white highlights, I smeared some warm sap green and white on the top of the breaker with my thumb.

I used the rigger to brush in some cool Prussian blue and white licks of foam on the unbroken face of the wave, also adding some similar shadow strokes in Prussian blue, red and sap green to the foreground wavelet.

If you've enjoyed this acylics project, take a look at Jenny's guides on how to paint light on water, painting a lively market scene and how to paint seabirds.

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Jenny Aitken has been painting professionally for over 20 years, and exhibits across the UK. She tutors workshops and demonstrations to art societies throughout the UK. Jenny can be contacted through her website www.jennyaitken.co.uk