How to Paint a Beach Scene | Inspired By Massachusett's Beach

Learn how to paint a beach scene using acrylics in this painting tutorial. Artist Ashley Krieger is traveling and painting in all 50 U.S. states. Today she takes you to Massachusetts to capture a fun beach at Cape Cod.  I hope you learn a lot and enjoy this video as she paints plein air. ​

---

While we were in Massachusetts we went to Cape Cod and enjoyed several of the beaches. This is one of them that we found while we drove all over to find parking. It was busy because it was Labor Day weekend. We were able to find a beach with roadside parking. 

The beach was very relaxing. The kids found hermit crabs and played in the sand and warmer water where the river met the sea. We thought it would be fun to swim out to the sandbars until they quickly disappeared. We're glad we didn't try that with the kids. 

The tide came in quickly and people started leaving, hey, it's just high tide. We stayed and played with sand toys until the sun went down. I call this one" high tide" because we had a choice to get frustrated with parking and people or relax. We can choose to focus on the highs in all life gives us.

---

Learn How to Paint a Beach, Ocean, and Seascape

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. ​​​​

How to Paint a Beach Scene

1. Paint the Sky. To make it fast mix your colors on your canvas. Use plenty of white and a little brilliant blue. I can always layer over the sky in the final touches if I want to make changes.

2. Paint in the water. Add grey, black, or a darker blue to your sky color to make your water color. Using a flat brush paint a horizontal line just under your sky. Paint the water color side to side filling in the middle of your painting. Let this dry.
 
3. Paint in the sand.  To make a sand color use gold and white. Paint the lower part of your canvas up to your water. 

4. Paint in the grass. You can leave it impressionistic or get as detailed as you want. Use a darker green to create the shadow of the water. I use bronze to darken my green. With a small flat brush paint vertically while lifting off your canvas at the top. Don't add very much water to your paint, this is called a dry brush technique. Paint in the grasses going over some portion of the water and reaching your sand. Add a lighter green, like a lime green to go over the dark green. Let some of the dark green show on the bottom for a shadow. Make a lime green by adding yellow. See video.

5. Paint in details. You can make this painting as easy or impressionistic as you want. If you want to add more details this is the step to do that. In the video I show you how to add waves to your water, shadow to your sand, and make your grasses look more realistic. I don't share all of my detail work for copyright reasons. I encourage you to make your art unique to you. If you want a reference photo to help you, you can become a Createful Art Member by clicking below to get that perk.  

Thank you for watching!. Get weekly art lessons from Ashley Krieger that will help you become a better artist, when you become a Createful Art Member. Sign up today so you will be on your way to becoming the artist you were meant to be. 

Become a Createful Art Member