One of the most difficult elements in a landscape to paint is water. For this tutorial, I spent a lot of time looking for just the right spot at my local river where there was an appropriate amount of surface movement, reflection and interest to test artists of all levels. It lends itself to a smaller sized painting and in this tutorial, I’m painting on a 13” x 13” surface. In this tutorial, you will learn how to apply glazes and master the brush control needed for river details.

Best of luck,
Michael

Difficulty: Intermediate
Painting Size: 13 x 13
Brushes used in this lesson: Michael James Smith Professional Brush Set

In August 2019 Michael switched brush manufacturers and as a result the series numbers/names are different in some of the lessons. In order to be able to complete the lessons regardless of which set you’re using we have put together a chart which lists the equivalent brushes from both sets.

Acrylic paints used in this lesson:
Titanium White
Cadmium Orange
Sap Green
Ivory Black
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Cobalt Blue
Burnt Umber

Oil paints used in this lesson:
Titanium White
Dioxazine Purple
Cobalt Blue
Sap Green
Burnt Umber
Cadmium Yellow Light
French Ultramarine
Phthalo Green (Yellow shade)
Burnt Sienna
Ivory Black

Thinner:
White Spirit