Landscape and Ocean Tutorials

This page has my step-by-step landscape and ocean tutorials, organized so you can choose a project and start painting today.

Do you love painting mountains, waterfalls, beaches, and waves? They're all here.

Quick links:

New to painting? Visit the Beginner’s Guide
Want to browse everything? All Tutorials

If you’re brand new, start with one beginner-friendly project below and don’t worry about drawing perfectly.

Visit the landscape and ocean tutorials by artist Carol May.

You can paint ocean!

Start Here: Choose Your Project (30 seconds)

Pick the option that fits you today:

I want the easiest first win (beginner): Start with Paint a Beach.
I want dramatic water movement: Try - Paint a Wave.
I want to learn believable ocean color: Start with How to Paint Ocean Colors.
I’m painting in watercolor today: Start with the Glazing Watercolor tutorial that supports landscapes and skies.

Oil Painting Tutorials: Landscape, Beach, and Waves

These oil tutorials also work well for acrylic or alkyd because the painting steps and techniques are the same.

They include detailed instructions including the important fundamentals of composition, color and using light and dark values in the focal point.

How to Paint Ocean with a Step-by-Step Tutorial
Learn how to paint ocean with a step-by-step tutorial. Just follow the simple steps to create your own seascape paintings. Then enjoy the ocean at home anytime.
How to Paint a Wave: Step-by-Step Oil Painting Tutorial
How to paint a wave with oils. Join artist Carol May for a step-by-step tutorial. How waves are made, their shape, colors, draw and paint a wave with 5 steps.
Landscape Paintings Bring Peace and Beauty to Your Home
Bring the peace and beauty of the outdoors into your home with landscape paintings of barns, swamp, seascapes, forest, prairie, mountains and more by Carol May
How to Paint Ocean Colors: Palette, Mixing & Tutorial
How to paint ocean colors beautifully? Get inspired with creative tips and guidance in a tutorial to master the art of capturing the ocean's stunning hues!

Watercolor-Friendly Lessons for Landscapes & Skies

Even if you’re not painting a full landscape in watercolor yet, these watercolor lessons build the exact skills you’ll use for skies, distance, soft edges, and luminous color.

How to Watercolor (basic techniques: washes, wet-into-wet, wet-on-dry)
Glazing with Watercolor (build depth and glow—great for skies and atmosphere)

3 Key Skills That Make Landscapes Look Real

Paint this landscape.

Use these with any medium:

Values (light, medium, dark)
Landscapes pop when you push contrast where it matters.
Composition (where you place the horizon, focal point, and shapes)
A strong composition can make a simple scene feel dramatic.
Color choices (limited palette + temperature shifts)
Ocean and sky color gets easier when your palette is simpler. Color-Schemes-in-Art

Your paintings will improve the fastest by painting consistently - as often as your schedule will allow you to paint.

Quick Exercise

Before you paint: Plan the composition with thumbnails of your scene.

Select a light, medium, and dark value. Ignore all the in-between values.
Lay out the general areas of each of the 3 values.
Ask yourself: Is it interesting? Does it look balanced? Will the main subject be highlighted? Do you think you would use it for your painting?

Here's an example of a thumbnail study with the finished watercolor painting.

Composition study of an ocean landscape.

Study of the proposed composition.

The completed painting.

Common Problems with Quick Fixes

My ocean looks flat - increase value contrast; darken shadows under the wave crest; keep foam edges crisp in focal areas. How to Paint Ocean
My greens/blues look muddy - simplify palette, mix in steps, and avoid over-mixing. Color Bias has a strong effect on your colors.
My waterfall doesn’t look like it’s moving - soften edges, sharpen highlights, and increase the contrast between the rock and water. Paint a Waterfall

Recommended Supplies

Oil painters: brushes + canvas + solvent safety

Watercolor painters: paper the first recommendation, canvas, or Aquabord

Studio setup basics: light, ventilation, and storage

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the Easiest Landscape to Start with As a Beginner?

When you are new at painting, a quiet water scene is good for beginners. You can often paint them with only three colors.

Is Painting Waves Hard?

Painting anything is not difficult when you do it one step at a time. When you are starting with seascapes, Painting a Beach is a good place to begin.

How Do I Choose Ocean Colors?

You might want to check out the Ocean Colors page to get the basic colors for many seascape paintings.

Do I Need to Draw Well to Paint Landscapes?

Definitely NOT! Nothing is perfect in nature - so people won't notice the imperfections in your drawings.

When did you see a tree with a perfectly straight trunk or a lake in a symmetrical circle? Nature is not perfect, so you don't have to be perfect at drawing to begin painting landscapes.