Painting water

Painting water can be a challenge. Still water usually reflects what is around it and therefore all you paint is a faded version of what is above or around the water. Include sky and land colors as well as the reflections of objects and lights. Reflections will always be a little wavy or blurred and never as bright as the objects themselves. After you paint in the reflections with smaller brushes, use a dry two inch brush and quickly drag it horizontally over the wet paint in the water. This will get water. 

You can keep acrylics wet while you work on your water by misting the canvas from time to time. It is important to keep it wet. This will keep the paint wet as long as you like. Afterwards you can add leaves or highlights on top of the water to give transparency and depth to the water. Leaves and highlights should be bright, bold colors, but not too large and only in strategic places.

Running water is much different and although there are reflections, they are not like still water. You have ripples, waves, foam and mist and the method of painting is much like painting land or even sky. You are painting objects in the water in the same way you paint land except the colors are different and there is motion. Imagine what water does as you paint. It takes practice.