Early Sunday Morning

Light streams from the left, creating a sharp shadow line that bisects the entire composition—everything left of that line is in warm, direct morning sun; everything right falls into cooler shadow. Your eye lands first on the bright red building facade because it occupies the upper two-thirds and reads as the warmest, most saturated mass. The street and storefronts below are subdued and recessive, anchoring the composition in stillness. The barber pole (red-white-blue striped) and green fire hydrant are small focal points that punctuate the emptiness, sitting on sunlit pavement.

The darkest darks are the recessed doorways and storefront windows—nearly black-green, they create visual caverns that suggest depth and abandonment. The lightest lights are the pale yellow window panes on the upper floor and the sunlit pavement. There's a distinct middle-value family: the red brick, the shadowed green storefronts, the tan cornice trim. Squint and you'll see three clear zones: bright upper street facade, dark recessed shop level, and a thin bright pavement band.

• #c85a4a

  Cadmium Red Medium + Yellow Ochre + touch of Burnt Umber

  The dominant upper-building brickwork, particularly the sunlit face left of the shadow line

• #2d464b

  Ultramarine Blue + Viridian Green + Burnt Umber

  The deep shadowed storefronts, recessed doorways, and interior window voids

• #7a8566

  Yellow Ochre + Viridian Green + Titanium White

  The mid-tone shadowed storefront façade and base trim running the full width

• #f4e8d0

  Titanium White + Yellow Ochre + touch of Cadmium Red

  Sunlit upper-floor window panes and bright pavement in foreground

• #5a4a3a

  Burnt Umber + Ultramarine Blue

  Shadow areas on the building itself, window frames, and cornice details

• #dbeff1

  Titanium White + touch of Ultramarine Blue

  The pale, hazy sky occupying the upper fifth of the canvas

Hopper uses crisp, clean edges throughout—the shadow line dividing sunlight and shade is precise and hard. Window frames are rendered with thin, dark lines; the building's geometry is unambiguous. Yet the brushwork is economical: the sky is nearly flat, the pavement is simplified into a few directional strokes. Avoid fussy detail; instead, rely on value contrast and clean delineation to create the sense of form and light.

1. 01

   Establish the shadow dividing line

   Lightly map the vertical line of shadow that runs down the middle-right portion of the canvas. This line determines everything—it separates the warm sunlit building from the cool shadowed storefronts. Sketch it in burnt umber or pencil first; this is your compositional backbone.

2. 02

   Block in the sky and pavement masses

   Paint the sky in the pale blue-white mixture (Titanium White + touch Ultramarine). Keep it flat and even—no texture. Below, lay down a warm tan-gray for the pavement, leaving the sunlit stripe on the left notably brighter and more yellow. These are your lightest passages outside the windows.

3. 03

   Establish the red building upper mass

   Block in the entire upper two-thirds of the composition with your cadmium red + ochre + burnt umber mix. Don't worry about detail yet—just fill the area solidly and evenly. This red is the painting's dominant chord and must read as warm and present.

4. 04

   Lay down the dark storefront base

   Paint the horizontal band of recessed storefronts and shadow using your ultramarine + viridian + burnt umber mix. Make this darker than the red above and distinctly cool-toned. The contrast between red and this deep shadowed green is critical; don't let it get muddy or too similar in value.

5. 05

   Define window panes and frames

   With a fine round brush and burnt umber + ultramarine, draw the window grid lines and door frames. The windows on the upper floor are pale yellow-white (from the light inside); the lower storefront windows are nearly black. Keep these lines confident and thin—wavering lines destroy the architectural clarity.

6. 06

   Refine the shadow boundary and building edge

   Now sharpen the vertical line where sunlight meets shadow on the building's face. Use a flat brush and your darkest shadow mix. This edge should be crisp and unambiguous. Also define the cornice trim along the top with thin burnt umber strokes to suggest the building's crown.

7. 07

   Paint the barber pole and fire hydrant

   The barber pole is red, white, and blue diagonal stripes on the right sidewalk edge; keep it small and punchy. The fire hydrant on the left is green (Viridian + Yellow Ochre + touch of white). These small notes of local color enliven the empty street—don't overshadow them, but render them crisply.

8. 08

   Adjust values and harmonize

   Step back. Squint. Check that your darkest darks (the voids) read clearly distinct from your mid-shadows (the storefronts). The sunlit red should glow warmer than the shadowed portions. Add final touches: deepen any windows that read too light, brighten the pavement stripe on the left, ensure the sky remains serene and pale.

• Making the storefront shadow too light or too warm—it must be distinctly cool and dark to create the void-like quality that conveys abandonment. Resist the urge to add detail or texture inside those recessed areas.
• Losing the crisp shadow boundary line. This line is what locks the entire composition and creates the stark morning-light effect. A soft or fuzzy edge will flatten the painting and lose Hopper's architectural precision.
• Mixing the red too orange or too purple. The red is a true cadmium-based warm red with ochre—lean into yellow undertones in the sunlit portions, but don't drift toward coral or mauve.
• Making windows and frames inconsistent in line weight or clarity. These need to be drawn with confidence and uniformity; sloppy frames break the austere, geometric spell of the whole piece.
• Overworking or texturing the sky and pavement. These areas should feel smooth and almost flat—they support the geometry and light play, not compete with it. A quiet background lets the red building sing.

beginner friendliness

value contrast

palette complexity

compositional simplicity

brushwork visibility