Backwash running out to meet the next waveSand, gray green, white. Paint the outgoing water as thin streaks pointing away from the beach.
Evening roller with a crest lit pinkIndigo, pink, peach, white. Touch pink only along the top edge of the wave.
Foam bubbles close up on green waterSea green, white, pale blue. Paint the foam as a net of white rings with green holes between.
Looking out from inside the barrel of a waveAqua, teal, navy, white. Curve every stroke around an oval opening that shows the sky.
Night sea with three broken lines of white crestBlack, indigo, white. Paint sea and sky nearly the same dark and add three broken lines of white for the crests.
One slanting line of surf across the canvasCobalt, white, sand. Split the canvas with a diagonal: water above, sand below, foam along the join.
Single curling wave with light shining through its crestTeal, yellow green, navy, white. Paint the thin top of the wave palest and yellowest, and its base dark.
Small glassy waves folding onto the sandBottle green, aqua, white, sand. Paint each wave as one smooth dark band with a thin white lip.
Spray blown back off a crest by the windSlate blue, white. Drag a dry brush backward from the crest so the spray trails behind the wave.
Three lines of breakers seen from the beachNavy, teal, white, sand. Paint three white bands, each thinner and closer together toward the horizon.
Wave bursting on a rock in a white fanCharcoal, teal, white. Pull the spray upward from the rock in short strokes of a stiff brush.
Whitewater tumbling down a gentle wave's faceBlue green, white, pale gray. Dab the foam down from the crest with a sponge, thinning as it falls.
Calm water and far horizons 12
Calm sea at the blue hour with one far lightIndigo, violet, yellow. Paint everything in blues and add one small yellow dot and its reflection.
Calm sea in three flat bands of blue under a pale skyPale blue, turquoise, cobalt, navy. Paint the bands darkest at the bottom and do not blend them.
Far island as one pale blue shapeCobalt, pale blue, white. Paint the island barely darker than the sky and give it no detail.
Glassy bay holding the shapes of cloudsSky blue, white, gray. Paint the clouds, then repeat them below the horizon, flatter and a little darker.
Morning haze with no line between sea and skyPearl gray, pale peach, pale blue. Blend the whole canvas wet and leave the horizon out.
One far ship as a gray block on a flat horizonPale blue, cobalt, gray. Paint two flat bands and set one small gray block on the line between them.
Open water paling toward a far horizonNavy, cobalt, pale blue gray. Mix more white and a little sky color into each band as it goes back.
Path of sparkles on calm waterCobalt, white, pale yellow. Dot short white dashes in a column that narrows toward the horizon.
Raindrop rings scattered over flat gray waterGray, slate, white. Paint the water flat, then add small white rings, fewer and flatter toward the horizon.
Shallow turquoise water deepening to navy offshoreSand, turquoise, cobalt, navy. Blend from the beach outward in one pass.
Slow swell like folded cloth, with no foamGray blue, navy, pale blue. Paint long soft ridges, light on top and dark in the hollows.
Two thirds sky and one line of seaPale gray, white, slate blue. Paint a wide flat sky and a single dark band under it.
Storms and heavy skies 12
Dark storm front over a pale strip of seaCharcoal, gray, pale green. Leave a bright band of water along the horizon under the dark cloud.
Fog rolling in over a restless seaGray, white, slate. Brush thin white over the far half of the dry painting.
Gale at sea painted in black, white and one grayBlack, white, gray. Use the gray for the sky and the sea, and the white for crests only.
Heavy sky filling four fifths of the canvasCharcoal, gray, slate blue. Dab the cloud with a sponge and keep the sea to one low band.
Lightning over the sea at nightBlack, indigo, white, lilac. Paint the bolt thin and white and its glow along the horizon.
Olive-gray swell, a few white crests under charcoal cloudOlive gray, charcoal, white. Keep the white to a few broken crests.
Pale rainbow over a gray sea once the rain has passedGray, slate, six thin colors. Paint the arc thin and pale so the gray sky still shows through it.
Rain slanting from a gray cloud onto the seaGray, slate, white. Drag a dry brush down at a slant from the base of the cloud.
Shaft of sunlight through a cloud gap onto the seaSlate, pale yellow, white. Brush one pale wedge down from a gap in the cloud and a bright patch where it lands.
Squall passing, half the sea dark and half brightCharcoal, silver gray, pale blue. Split the canvas with a slanting soft edge.
Wave rearing over a breakwaterGray green, white, black. Paint the wall as one dark bar and the wave twice its height.
Whitecaps all the way to the horizonNavy, gray, white. Dot short white dashes that shrink with distance.
Rocks, cliffs and tide pools 12
Cliff face striped in layers of red and cream rockRust, cream, tan, cobalt. Paint the layers as tilted bands, all leaning the same way, with the sea at the foot.
Cove seen from the cliff topOlive, tan, turquoise, navy. Paint the water palest where it is shallow in the middle of the cove.
Dark rock with foam circling its baseCharcoal, teal, white. Paint the rock as one shape and ring it with dabbed white.
Grassy cliff top with pink flowers above the dropGreen, pink, cobalt, white. Fill the foreground with grass and let the sea show only beyond its edge.
Headland after headland fading into the distanceBlue gray in four strengths. Paint the far headland palest and each nearer one darker.
Rock at low tide hung with strings of seaweedGray, olive, brown, sand. Drag the seaweed downward in strings with a liner brush.
Sea arch with the setting sun seen through itOrange, yellow, dark brown. Paint the sky and sun first and the arch as a dark shape over them.
Sea stack standing offshore with surf at its footTan, brown, cobalt, white. Paint one tall block of rock and a line of foam at its foot.
Three dark rocks mirrored on a wet beachCharcoal, tan, pale blue. Mirror each rock below itself in a paler, softer shape.
Tide pool ringed with barnacles, seaweed trailing in itSand, teal, olive, cream. Paint the pool darker than the rock around it and dot the barnacles along its rim.
Water draining off a flat rock shelfCharcoal, white, teal. Pull thin white lines straight down the dark edge of the shelf.
Wet pebbles close up in grays and rustGray, rust, cream, black. Paint overlapping ovals and give each one a small white shine.
Gulls, boats and the shore 12
Driftwood log on empty sand with the sea behindPale gray, sand, cobalt. Paint the sea and sand as two flat bands and lay the log across the join as one pale shape.
Dune grass in front of a strip of seaStraw, olive, cobalt. Flick the grass upward over the dry sea with a liner brush.
Fishing rod propped in the sand, its line running out to seaSand, cobalt, black, white. Paint the sea and sand as two bands, the rod as one slanted line and the line as a hair.
Flock of gulls lifting off the sandWhite, gray, sand, sky blue. Paint the near gulls as M shapes and the far ones as dots.
Gull gliding low over a waveWhite, gray, black, teal. Paint the wings as one long shallow M with black tips.
Gull standing in the shallows with its reflectionWhite, gray, sand, pale blue. Repeat the gull upside down and break it with two ripples.
Gull's head close up against a plain blue skyWhite, gray, yellow, cobalt. Fill the canvas with the head: a white dome, a yellow beak and one small dark eye.
Gulls trailing a fishing boatNavy, red, white, gray. Paint the boat small and scatter the gulls behind it as white flecks.
Line of footprints ending where the foam beginsSand, tan, aqua, white. Paint the prints as pairs of small dark ovals that shrink toward the sea.
One gull on a post with the sea behindWhite, gray, yellow, cobalt. Paint the sea as flat bands and the gull as two rounded shapes.
Row of jetty posts shrinking out to seaBrown, gray, pale blue. Paint the posts smaller and closer together as they go out.
Rowboat pulled up on a pebble beachRed, white, gray, navy. Tilt the boat and tuck a shadow under its lower side.
How it works
A seascape is the water itself: how it breaks, lies flat or darkens under weather. These sea painting ideas are sorted by that mood, with rocks and cliffs, and gulls, boats and the shore, in groups of their own.
Read the full guide
Acrylic paint ocean ideas: waves and foam
Where the sea floor slopes gently, a wave steepens until its crest spills down its face as whitewater: Whitewater tumbling down a gentle wave's face. Foam forms where breaking waves churn the water next to the shore, so keep white to the crests and the sand's edge.
Far water is paler
With distance, things lose contrast and drift toward the color of the sky. Open water paling toward a far horizon mixes more white into each band as it goes back. Far island as one pale blue shape has no detail at all.
The easy ones sit under More filters, Level: a few flat shapes.
Questions and answers
Are there seagull painting ideas in this list?
Yes, six in the Gulls, boats and the shore group, from Gull's head close up against a plain blue sky to Flock of gulls lifting off the sand. One gull on a post with the sea behind is the simplest.
What is an easy seascape to paint first?
Two thirds sky and one line of sea: a wide flat sky over a single dark band. Three lines of breakers seen from the beach adds white bands that thin toward the horizon.
What colors do I need for a seascape?
Navy, cobalt, teal or turquoise and white cover most of the water. Add sand, gray and charcoal for beaches, rocks and storms. Each idea lists its own palette.
How do you paint foam on a wave?
Last, in thick white, with a sponge or a nearly dry brush so it breaks up. Dark rock with foam circling its base dabs a white ring around one dark shape.