Boats without borders
Drawing boats with the brush
Have you ever tried to paint a boat and given up at the drawing stage? All those curves and angles that have to be just right. Sometimes I donât even get past the pencil stage.
So, this week weâre skipping the pencil entirely. No outlines, no drawing first. Weâre painting boats directly with the brush.
That sounds harder than it is. A boat is just a few basic shapes. The hull is one broad stroke. The cabin is a small block on top. The mast is a single line. Put them together in the right order and youâve got a fishing or sailboat in under a minute.
And because each boat takes less than a minute, the mistakes cost you nothing. You just paint another one. This exercise is about quantity, not quality
Exercise
Use any paper you want. It doesnât have to be your best quality.
Pick a few brushes to try. Flat brushes work well if theyâre about the size of the boat you want to paint.
Start with the hull. For a side view, paint one stroke, then adjust the angles of the front and back.
Put a cabin on top. Its size and shape determine what kind of boat it is. Or skip the cabin for a row boat or dinghy.
For a front view, start with the centre line of the bow, then paint each side as a mirrored shape. Flat bottom if itâs in the water, or add a keel if you want to show the whole boat.
Add a cabin, a mast and a sail if you want.
For leaning boats, start with a centre line on an angle, then finish it the same way.
Once dry, feel free to add a few details or shadows. Donât overwork it.
Why
Painting without a pencil trains you to see big shapes first, the most useful habit in watercolour
Brush drawing builds confident strokes. You commit, you donât fiddle
Constructing subjects from a few simple shapes works for almost everything: boats, buildings, birds, people
Quick repetitions mean fast progress. Ten boats teach you more than one careful painting
And now you can paint quick and loose scenes with boats like this:
In the premium section:
Video demo of the exercise and a loose sketch of a harbour scene
Artist spotlight, who is a master of efficiency with boats
Ideas for taking this exercise further
