How To Paint a Lake | Inspired by Delaware

Learn how to paint a calm lake with acrylics. Artist Ashley Krieger is traveling and painting in all 50 U.S. states. Today she takes you to Delaware to capture a lake in the forest. Here you can learn how she paints this scene. 

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While we were in Delaware we stayed at Killens Pond State Park. We were surrounded by the forest with several trails through it. There also was a trail around the pond or what I think is a lake. It was so wonderful exploring and walking the trails that we didn't want to leave. I even got some much needed alone time sitting on the dock staring out at the peaceful scene before me.

​At first, I painted ripples on the lake but then I saw this lake so calm that it was like glass the evening after I had made my Youtube video for this. I also really liked the light glowing behind the trees with a few clouds in the sky reflecting off the lake. There were so many picturesque moments it was really hard to decide what I wanted the finished painting to look like. I did know that I wanted it to feel calm, the same feeling I had visiting this lovely park. This place really helped me re-center so I call this painting "Calming down."

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Learn to Paint a Lake

You can find the acrylic art supplies use here. I also used metallic gold and silver Liquitex heavy body acrylic paints. Watch the tutorial to see what colors I used and when.

As mentioned in the video:

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Steps to Paint a Lake

Step 1. Paint Sky- Brilliant blue and white
Step 2. Paint Trees - Sky color with a little green. Later add more green and yellow as you add more to your trees. Shadows I used purple with my green.
Step 3. Paint Reflection- Bring your colors and shapes down below it. 
Step 4. Paint the lake. 
Step 5. Finishing Touches

Watch the video to get more details. 

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