A nook of old Yerevan

The scene is dominated by strong Mediterranean daylight from the upper left, casting deep blue shadows across a dusty street. The composition draws the eye to a figure with a donkey in the immediate foreground (lower left), then travels back along the receding street lined with cream-colored buildings that have deep indigo window openings and doorways. Scattered figures in earth-toned clothing stand in the middle ground. The background opens to low mountains under a pale blue sky, with trees framing both edges—poplars and willows creating vertical accents against the horizontal architecture.

The darkest passages are the shadow patterns on the ground (rich indigo-blue) and the deep interior doorways and windows (near-black). The lightest lights are the sunlit building walls (pale cream) and the sky. The middle value zone—the tan, dusty ground in lit areas and burnt-sienna building details—anchors everything. Squint and you see three strong value bands: dark blue shadows, mid-tone tan ground, light cream buildings rising into pale sky.

• #cec6b0

  Titanium white + touch of yellow ochre

  Sunlit building walls, the dominant architectural mass

• #6d7c82

  Ultramarine blue + burnt umber + white, weighted toward blue

  Shadows cast on the ground throughout the street; deep shadows under eaves

• #b8b3a2

  Yellow ochre + white, or raw sienna with white

  The sunlit ground plane—dusty street surface

• #dad3bb

  Titanium white + small amount of yellow ochre

  Brightest highlights on building edges, sky's lightest zones

• #9a8f79

  Burnt umber + yellow ochre

  Building details, rust-toned doorframes, warm shadows in recesses

• #3d393d

  Burnt umber + ultramarine blue, or Mars black + umber

  Window interiors, the donkey's silhouette, deepest doorway shadows

Sarian works with loose, expressive brushstrokes that suggest rather than describe. Building edges are soft and sometimes broken, allowing background to read through. Shadows on the ground are applied with visible, directional strokes that follow the form of cast shadows. Figures are indicated with minimal detail—a stroke of dark for a body, a dab for a head. The entire surface feels alive with painterly marks; nothing is blended into slickness.

1. 01

   Establish the value underpainting

   Lay in a thin wash or quick block of the three value zones: a pale tone for the buildings and sky area, a medium tan for the lit ground, and darker blue for where the major shadows will be. Use burnt umber and ultramarine thinned with medium. Don't aim for detail—map the big geometry of the street receding back, the building mass, and the foreground figures' shadow clusters.

2. 02

   Paint the sky

   Block in a pale, cool blue (ultramarine + plenty of white). Keep it simple and let it fade slightly lighter toward the horizon. The sky should feel like a continuous pale ceiling rather than dramatic—it's not the focal point. Work around the tree silhouettes on the left and right.

3. 03

   Establish the buildings and their form

   Paint the cream-colored walls with confident, loose strokes. Leave openings for deep window and door shadows—don't paint those now. Pay attention to how the buildings recede: the far buildings are smaller and tilted slightly. The near building on the left should have stronger presence. Use your pale cream mix (titanium white + touch of ochre) with slightly warmer and cooler variations, not a flat tone.

4. 04

   Block in the shadow pattern on the ground

   This is crucial: paint the blue shadows with your ultramarine-burnt-umber-white mix, keeping them distinctly cool and applying them as bold, directional strokes that follow the cast shadows from buildings and figures. The ground should read as a pattern of lit tan areas and cool shadow strokes. Don't blend them—let the colors sit side by side. This creates the sense of strong, angled sunlight.

5. 05

   Paint the trees and landscape frame

   Add the poplars and willows on both sides using yellowish-greens (yellow ochre + ultramarine) and let them be loose and gestural. The foliage should be suggested with vertical strokes. This frames the scene and adds warmth to the edges. Keep them lighter than the buildings so they read as atmospheric depth.

6. 06

   Add window and door openings

   Now deepen the building interiors with dark blue-black (ultramarine + burnt umber, or nearly black). These openings should be simple rectangles or arches—not detailed. They create the architectural rhythm and help push the buildings forward. Don't overwork them; a few strokes defines them.

7. 07

   Suggest the figures and donkey

   With a small round brush and dark mix, place the standing figures as simple vertical strokes with a touch for a head. In the foreground left, block in the seated figure on the donkey—the donkey is a dark mass below, the figure above. Use burnt umber and ultramarine to suggest their forms without detail. The figures should feel very small and gestural, their shadows already implied by your shadow pattern.

8. 08

   Refine and adjust warm-cool balance

   Step back and look at the whole. Warm up any passages that feel too cool by adding touches of ochre. Cool down any warm areas that compete with the shadow rhythm by adding blue. The donkey's silhouette may need strengthening. If figures feel lost, a small highlight or warm accent on clothing brings them forward. Keep all adjustments loose and painterly—this should never look labored.

• The blue shadows are the painting's visual engine—if you make them gray or purple instead of a clear, cool indigo, the whole scene loses its Mediterranean intensity and directional light. Mix your shadow blue with restraint; let it sing.
• Overworking the figures and donkey. They are meant to be simple, gestural marks. A detailed figure will look out of place in this painterly, expressionist context and will steal focus from the architecture.
• Flattening the perspective. The street should recede—watch that the distant buildings are smaller and the ground plane tips back slightly. Lose this and the scene reads as a flat wall.
• Blending the ground color too smoothly. The power comes from the visible contrast between warm lit areas and cool shadow strokes—keep them adjacent and loose rather than gradating them.
• Making the buildings too white and bright. They should be a warm cream with variation, sometimes picking up shadow tones. True white will look chalky and will compete with the sky and flatten the form.

beginner friendliness

value contrast

palette complexity

compositional simplicity

brushwork visibility