Beneath the Surface

Beneath the Surface is a Painting from Under the Water of a Clear Stream.

Beneath the Surface offers a peek into the world under a shallow stream, where soft sand shifts beneath a gentle current and smooth stones catch the light. Sunbeams ripple across their rounded, ragged surfaces, drawing the eye deeper into the water. It’s the view every child remembers chasing — the pull to look closer at a clear stream and see what lies beneath.

MEDIUM: Digital Painting | STYLE: Painterly Realism | SIZES: 8×10 — 11×14 — 16×20 — Custom size may be available. CLICK HERE  to inquire. | ORIENTATION: Landscape | TOOLS: Procreate, 13″ iPad Pro, Apple Pencil Pro, Giclée Fine Art Archival paper and ink | AVAILABILITY: Prints available | CONTACT SHADOWMYST ART FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

ARTIST’S PROCESS:

Beneath the Surface was painted using Procreate on a 13-inch iPad Pro using the Apple Pencil Pro. The process commenced with a detailed sketch layer that established the space, rocks, sand receding from the canvas, and the underwater view of the water surface above. Subsequently, color blocking was applied to the sand, rocks, and the overhead and distant areas. The rocks were placed on separate layers, each with its own color-blocked shapes, facilitating the arrangement of colors and shapes for the composition. Detail layers were introduced by adding texture to the sand layer and gradient layers that defined the light change as the stream recedes into the distance. Several different Procreate texture brushes were utilized on each rock layer to create varying colors, shapes, and appearances of the rocks. Transitioning to the layers for the water’s surface, a multi-layer process was employed to create several elements ranging from strands of dark blue to green and yellow, establishing the patterns for ripples and movement on the surface. A layer positioned above this set was painted with a Procreate Light Pen brush to add highlights and thin bright streaks randomly, simulating reflecting light. Finally, a final set of layers was added above the rock layers and below the surface layers to create light patterns across the top of the rocks, gradually fading them out to the distance.

CHALLENGE:

Depicting the water’s surface from below was the most challenging aspect of this painting. An extensive research on natural water photographs, both above and below, was done to achieve this perspective. After selecting the appropriate view, a muted dark blue-grey watercolor wash was applied across the canvas’s center, just short of each side edge, as the foundation for the deepening stream.

To enhance depth and realism, the Procreate Gaussian Blur tool was used to blur the edges of the first layer by 8%, softening them and seamlessly blending the subsequent water layers above with the sand below.

Several additional layers were added above the initial wash. A light watercolor wash, almost transparent, of pale blue-green defined the light gradient and connected the distant water with the darkening sand. To create the shadow pattern of surface ripples, a Procreate small watercolor brush with full opacity was used to add streaks of dark muted blue.

A second layer of medium orange yellow loosely followed the established ripple pattern from the previous layer. To minimize blending, a Gaussian blur of 3% was added.

A layer with muted olive green with a yellow tint, following the ripple pattern, added further depth to the transition between the two previous pattern layers.

On a layer below the pattern group, the Procreate “Damp Brush” from the painting group at 55% opacity and 5% size was used to create closely placed horizontal lines in sections within the transition space between the water and the sand, suggesting deeper small shifts in the water as the view recedes into more shadowy water.

Finally, a layer utilizing the Procreate Light Pen brush added bright white highlights sparingly across the water surface, where the sun would reflect on the moving water.

SUBJECTS AND THEMES:

Underwater Perspective — Stream Rocks — Light Reflections on Water — Water Movement — Nature Study — CONTACT SHADOWMYST ART FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.