world through art: Painting Drips and Drops By Karin Wells

How to paint water drips on a vertical surface in four easy steps.

This little 8″ x 10″ painting has a lot of water drops. I add these details to a dry painting surface at the end.

I posted the largest file allowed for this so you could see better detail if you click on the above picture.

Here’s how to do it when the light source comes from the upper left:

DRIP STEP 1

I use a dark color – raw umber works for me but any transparent dark will do. You are making the shape of a drip. A drip will occur on a vertical or slanted surface. A cast shadow will be on the lower right (i.e., Darker).

DRIP STEP 2

You will be looking through the water and it creates a soft shadow on the top left and the harder, sharper cast shadow on the lower right side of the drip.

Detail (above)

DRIP STEP 3

Light will be reflected on the top right and will define the top of the drop. I use Zinc White so the original color shows through. The light does NOT touch the shadow and we want to see the untouched color of the surface between light and shadow.