Among the most inviting and delightful things to paint when considering the challenge of water are reflections. These can be as simple as the reflection of a far shore in a still lake or as complex as a child’s reflection in a puddle. Much depends on the surface of the water you wish to describe. A very still body of water will create a reflection almost indistinguishable from the actual object. Slightly more active water will make a wavier reflection. Water that’s being constantly disturbed, such as that in a fountain, may be confusing and complex. Pull it off, though, and those reflections almost carry your painting. This demonstration shows just the water part of a reflection scene.
Arches hot-pressed watercolor paper
black, blue and orange hues of your choice
bristle brush
tissues
Make horizontal lines for the water and vertical lines for the reflection of the trees.
After everything has been wet with clear water and blended nicely, introduce a bit of orange at the bottom of the reflection to suggest the sunset light caught there.
Strengthen the reflections here and there with a black pencil. When that is dry, lift light lines with clear water on a bristle brush, using horizontal strokes to suggest the limpid quality of the small lake. Lift the loosened pigment with a clean tissue and let everything dry.
There are some simple rules to painting reflections. The most important is that the reflection is a mirror image of its object. That is, if the object leans to the left, so does the reflection. It’s not going to go stubbornly off on its own like a rebellious teenager!
Also note that reflections are usually (but not always) both simpler and darker closer to their objects. As the reflections fall away, they may begin to get rather wavy and lighter. These are not hard-and-fast rules but fairly safe generalizations.