Capturing Foam & Flow: A Watercolour Wave Workshop

Date: Saturday, April 25th, 2026

Time: 10.00 AM - 4.00 PM (PDT)

Location: Federation Academy on Granville Island, 1310 Johnston St, Vancouver, BC V6H 3S1 

Level: Open to All Levels

Medium: Watercolour

Workshop Overview: 

In this one-day workshop, we will explore the movement, structure, and physical characteristics of waves—and how to capture them in watercolour.

One of the unique challenges of watercolour is working from light to dark. This makes white foam challenging to paint. We’ll learn how to paint around highlights, shape convincing foam, and create depth and movement in water. Throughout the day, we’ll break down the essential techniques that make waves feel dynamic and believable.

As we work, we’ll also focus on loosening up your approach and building confidence with watercolour. Freedom and control must work together, and developing that balance is key to creating strong, expressive paintings.

This workshop is suitable for both beginners and more experienced painters. The structured steps and clear approach will help you overcome sticking points, strengthen your understanding, and move your work forward with greater clarity and confidence.

About the Instructor - Reha Sakar, SFCA:

Reha was born in Istanbul and he moved to Canada in 2008. He has been painting since he was very little. His mom is also an artist so they used to work together all his childhood. Reha always liked realism in paintings and every medium he uses. His works looked realistic.

Reha has been working in the digital media industry since 2005. Last 10 years he worked with some of the largest video game developers & publishers and media giants for creating promotional materials such as Call of Duty, Diablo 3, The Elderscrolls Online: Morrowind, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Marvel’s Avengers, World War Z, Rango, Batman The Dark Knight Rises, as well as sport leagues like, NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. Right now Reha is working in Animated TV Series, My Little Pony and Spidey and His Amazing Friends, as a Matte Painter.

When Reha was visiting his parents in summer of 2018, he realized his mom was doing watercolours. The day before he left he started to play with them. Since that day all Reha does is watercolours. Recently Reha got the second place in his first show, which was Annual International Representational Exhibition at the Federation of Canadian artists. Reha is now a Signature Member at the FCA. He really loves watercolours and hopes to draw his path on it.

Student Testimonials:

• " What an enjoyable course full of valuable teaching. I haven't started mine yet but am eager to get started. This tutor is so lively and full of wise words and cool advice. " 

• " Master of this medium! I really enjoyed this course and all that Reha has to share. Full of valuable tips and tricks that have expanded my range in the wonderfully expressive world of watercolours. " 

• " Excellent tutorial, it taught me to stop obsessing with the detail and be freer in my art practise. "

• " Reha's emphasis is on capturing the mood of a scene through getting tonal values right. In both projects. Reha adjusts the source image, selects his own colours, uses lost & found edges, splashes water & paint to create texture, wipes out & scratches paint to create highlights & suggest elements such as windows. Practising these techniques through the projects should help to free people from slavishly copying a reference image and to become more confident with wet-in-wet techniques. "

• " An interesting new way of dealing with light and dark. His ideas are great but I would not recommend it for beginners - only for people who have some experience with watercolour painting. "