Painting waves

With masking fluid (and no softening)

I struggle with drawing waves. And I struggle even more with painting them in watercolours. I painted one in gouache for my Fake Journal, and it worked out all right. But in watercolours, you have to plan and protect your whites at the very start, and it's hard to keep the values light and yet, give the wave volume. I tried a few paintings, and I find that the only way I can keep the whites white is by protecting them with masking fluid. The only thing with masking fluid though, is that it gives a very sharp edge, so the trick is to go back over the edge with a little water to soften it, without losing the shape. Easier said than done.

These three examples are from Coomeenole beach, where the waves were seriously big!

Without masking fluid - I found that I kept painting where I should have kept the white of the paper

With masking fluid and softening