This waterfall painting with gouache was a challenging exercise and involved using quite a few different gouache painting techniques!
Follow along with the steps to paint the dynamic energy of cascading water, the soft mist on mossy rocks, and the rich colours of an autumn landscape.
This step-by-step guide will walk you through how to paint a waterfall, from the initial sketch to the final highlights.
Gouache Supplies
- Gouache paints in:
- Titanium white
- Spectrum red
- Burnt umber
- Yellow ochre
- Primary yellow
- Permanent green
- Ultramarine blue
- Ivory black
- Watercolour Paper
- Round Brush, rigger and square watercolour brushes
- Watercolour Palette (to keep colour mixes fresh)
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Find more gouache supplies on the blog.
Composition Sketch
I prepared the paper by taping down the edges to ensure a clean border on the finished piece. Then, I lightly sketched the main composition. I didn’t focus on small details at this stage. Instead, I used broad, simple shapes to map out the key elements: the pools of water, the rock formations, the distant and foreground waterfalls, and the surrounding trees. My goal was to establish the general placement and flow of the scene with light, sketchy lines. The details would come later as I built up layers of paint.
Paint the Sky
With the sketch complete, I moved on to adding colour, starting with the background. The sky in this composition is mostly hidden by trees, so it only required a small touch of colour. I mixed a very light blue using titanium white and just a tiny dot of ultramarine blue. I applied this mix to the top corner of the paper, quickly blocking in the small area where the sky would be visible. This step established the lightest value in the painting and set the scene’s cool, natural light source.
Underpainting
Next, I focused on establishing the foundational tones for the entire painting, which are dark green.
This underpainting provides a cohesive base tone that unifies the different elements of the painting, as this dark green appears in almost all the shadow areas.
I created a dark, neutral sap green by mixing burnt umber, permanent green, ivory black, and yellow ochre. I thinned this mixture with water to make it more transparent and applied it as a wash across the areas that would become the distant rocks and water. I concentrated more pigment in the sections that would be in shadow.
Paint Distant Trees and Rocks
Working from the background forwards, I began painting the distant trees that sit behind the main waterfall. To avoid getting lost in detail, I used a square brush and a few different green tones. I mixed a brighter green and a darker, shadow green to complement my initial neutral mix. By dabbing these colours onto the paper, I created clusters of distant leaf shapes and established their shadows. For the rocky areas nestled among the trees, I used a simple dark, greyish colour to block in their forms against the greenery.
Detail Autumn Colours
To capture the feeling of an autumn scene, I needed to introduce some warm colours. I mixed spectrum red with yellow ochre and burnt umber to create an earthy orange. I used this colour to dot in clusters of turning leaves within the background forest. Although it’s a subtle detail, adding these warm tones provided a lovely contrast to the cooler greens and blues of the water and rocks.
Paint Middle Plunge Pool
Moving closer to the foreground, I focused on the pool of water situated between the two waterfalls. I used the same dark, neutral green from my underpainting to block in the base colour of this pool. Using a square brush with a good amount of water, I applied the paint smoothly across the section. This pool is largely in shadow, reflecting the dark rocks and surrounding trees, so its base tone is quite dark. The only lighter areas would be where light streams through from behind the waterfall. I use a detail brush and light grey paint to create organic thin lines to represent ripple reflections.
Block in Foreground Waterfall and Pool
The next step was to prepare the largest elements in the painting: the foreground waterfall and the pool at its base. Using my dark neutral green mix, I began blocking in the rock face of the waterfall. I used deliberate downward strokes, following the direction the water would flow. This not only established the dark base for the rocks but also created an underlying sense of movement that I could build upon with the water details. I then used this same dark colour to block in the entire foreground pool, setting a deep, shadowy base for the turbulent water.
Paint the First Layer of the Waterfall
Now it was time to start painting the foreground waterfall itself. I used the same light grey-white mixture from the distant waterfall for the initial highlights. For the shadows within the water, I mixed a mid-tone blueish-grey using titanium white, a small amount of ultramarine blue, and a touch of ivory black. With the fine tip of a round brush, I painted thin lines of the lighter grey, following the direction of the water’s flow. Then, I used the darker grey to establish the shapes of the shadows, which I would layer over later.
Paint Waterfall and Pool Details
With the base layers down, I started building up the details. I used pure white paint and a dotting motion to create the texture of fine bubbles on the waterfall’s surface. I continued to layer the blueish-grey tones in the shadow areas to create more texture. To define the small rocks in amongst the water, I applied a transparent glaze of ivory black. For the foreground pool, I used the blue-grey mix to paint organic, curved lines, representing ripples and streams of bubbles. Using a dry brush technique, I added lighter grey tones to create soft-edged highlights on the water.
Paint Mossy Rocks
To add a pop of life and texture to the dark rocks, I painted the bright green moss. I started by dotting a vibrant sap green in the areas where the moss would be illuminated. To create the brightest highlights on the moss, I mixed my green with titanium white for opacity and primary yellow for saturation. This prevented the colour from looking chalky and kept it looking vibrant. I dotted this intense, bright green on the mossy areas, especially on the foreground rocks, which helped add a greater sense of depth and dimension to the painting.
Paint the Trees
The final stage was to paint the trees that frame the scene. I started with the tree on the right, using a rigger brush and a dark mix of burnt umber and ivory black to line the trunk and branches. A rigger brush is perfect for creating long, natural-looking lines. I made sure the branches tapered as they extended from the trunk. For the trees on the left, I first dotted in the leaf textures that would hang over the sky and background, then painted the branches stretching over them. These trees act as a natural frame, drawing the viewer’s eye directly to the waterfall.
Take Your Skills to the Next Level
A strong painting is always built on a strong drawing. If you enjoyed this tutorial and want to build the confidence to tackle any subject with ease, understanding the fundamentals is the most important step you can take. My Drawing Fundamentals course is designed to give you the core skills you need to create stunning drawings.