Oceans, Rivers, Clouds, and Skies in Realistic Acrylic Painting Style

upcoming workshop dates:

5/27-6/24 2023 (online) $210*
(5 Saturday mornings 10:30am-12:30pm PST max of 20 students)
Register for this workshop


We will produce 3 beautiful paintings in different moods of oceans and rivers with clouds and sky. With the different combinations of colors, brushstrokes, textures, and layering techniques, we will paint:

• Waves, ripples, white caps, and other water elements,
• Clouds and skies at different times of day, seasons, and weather conditions,
• Three different moods in three different paintings: dramatic and moody, vibrant and happy, content and peaceful.

We will also examine works of famous artists from the past, like Winslow Homer, J. W. M. Turner, and Claude Monet to help us understand how to effectively paint with:

• The right amount of detail in the right places
• Brushstrokes to create a sense of movement or calmness
• A mixture of muted and saturated colors to evoke different emotions

You can create paintings using the same references as Wayne’s demo or create paintings from your own references.

Both online and in person workshops will include painting demos, student work feedback sessions, slideshow presentations, and eye training exercises. These combinations of activities are designed to help refine your painting techniques and observation skills. Photo references will be provided for all painting assignments. Students are welcome to bring their own photo references for their own paintings.

In person workshops will have extended painting sessions. During these sessions, students will get one-on-one mentoring from Wayne.

Online workshop students will have access to download a video file of the painting demo to refer to so they can paint along at home at their own pace. There will be critiques at the beginning of some of the classes.

Online workshop students are responsible for knowing how to:


Workshop level: upper beginner to intermediate

Materials list


Sample paintings for this workshop