Behind Salto Sapo Falls - Paint by Numbers Kit

Standing behind the water is the whole point of this scene. Salto Sapo in Venezuela's Canaima National Park drops as one enormous, luminous curtain, and you see it from inside a hollow of wet black-brown rock. Daylight filters through the falling sheet and turns everything silver-blue, while spray boils up from the pool below in soft white billows.

The palette is simple and dramatic. Pale whites and icy blues fill the center, and darker slate shadows run in long vertical streaks through the water. A flat ledge of warm sienna in the foreground gives your eye somewhere to rest, and the rock overhead frames the falls like a cave mouth. The large shapes blend gradually from one tone to the next, so you can paint the rushing water in smooth, confident passages. A numbered reference sheet helps you keep track of the many blues.

The kit suits beginners who like big, readable areas, and hobbyists who enjoy working out how to make a waterfall look soft and luminous. It also makes a good gift for anyone who loves national parks and wild places. Pick up your brush and start with the mist at the base.