Entrance to the Radićeva Street ("City Guard", "Turkish Tower")

Light falls from the upper left, casting the massive tree's canopy into deep shadow while illuminating the cream-colored buildings beneath it. The composition is anchored by the gnarled tree trunk in the right-center, which draws the eye immediately and creates a strong vertical anchor against the horizontal mass of architecture. The buildings recede leftward into softer focus, while the tree's thick, moss-covered branches dominate the upper two-thirds, creating a canopy that frames and nearly encloses the scene. The sky appears only in small fragments between branches and above the distant roofline.

The darkest darks are concentrated in the tree trunk, branches, and the deep shadow areas within the canopy—these are nearly black or very dark brown. The lightest lights are the cream and off-white building walls and the small patches of pale sky. The mid-tones—ranging from warm ochre to muted sage green—form a substantial middle band that gives the painting its earthy, weathered character. Squinting reveals a clear separation: tree mass (dark) versus buildings (light) versus vegetation overgrowth (medium-dark green).

• #463d21

  Burnt Sienna + Ultramarine Blue (or Payne's Grey), with a touch of Raw Umber

  Tree trunk, deepest branch shadows, and dark window openings in the buildings

• #bea581

  Yellow Ochre + Titanium White, with a hint of Raw Sienna

  Warm cream walls of the main building and lighter roof tiles

• #99825a

  Raw Sienna + Yellow Ochre + Ultramarine Blue (neutral brown-tan)

  Weathered stone details, mortar lines, and mid-tone building surfaces

• #7f6743

  Burnt Sienna + Raw Sienna + touch of Viridian

  Terracotta roof section and warm shadow accents on buildings

• #615931

  Ultramarine Blue + Burnt Sienna + Cadmium Yellow

  Lichen and moss-covered lower branches, shadowed foliage

• #d4c3b4

  Titanium White + Raw Sienna + touch of Ultramarine Blue (pale warm gray)

  Pale walls in shadow, sky fragments, architectural highlights

Edges are soft throughout—the boundaries between the tree canopy and sky blur and dissolve rather than cut sharply, achieved by dropping pigment into wet paper and allowing it to bloom. Building geometry is suggested with looser, more impressionistic strokes than strict architectural rendering; windows and doorways are darker voids rather than precisely drawn. The moss and lichen on the tree are built with small, irregular dabbing and stippling strokes that suggest texture without high detail, especially visible where yellow-green meets dark brown on the branches.

1. 01

   Establish the sky and distant atmosphere

   Wet the upper portion of the paper and drop in pale blue-gray washes, leaving white paper for the brightest sky gaps. Keep the sky soft and diffuse—this establishes the light source direction. Work quickly while the paper is damp so the color spreads naturally into the areas where tree canopy will later sit.

2. 02

   Block in the building masses

   Using cream and warm ochre, establish the large cream-colored building in the center-left and the lighter structures receding leftward. Keep these shapes simplified and loose; don't define edges sharply yet. The building walls should read as warm and luminous against what will become the dark tree.

3. 03

   Introduce the tree canopy structure

   Begin layering yellow-green and olive tones across the upper canopy area, following the organic, spreading shape visible in the reference. Allow these greens to overlap the sky slightly and begin suggesting the weight and volume of foliage. Leave some lighter gaps where sky should show through; the canopy is not a solid mass but broken and layered.

4. 04

   Darken and refine the canopy

   Layer darker, more saturated greens and blue-greens into the canopy, particularly on the shadowed left and upper portions. Mix in touches of dark brown and purple-gray to suggest depth and age. The canopy should now feel three-dimensional and moss-covered, with visible variation from yellow-green (lighter, lower growth) to deep forest green and brown (older, deeper branches).

5. 05

   Paint the main tree trunk and branches

   Define the thick, gnarled trunk in the right-center using dark brown and warm gray-brown. Build the branches with bold, irregular strokes that move outward and upward, following their actual curves in the reference. Allow the trunk to interact with the canopy foliage—some branches disappear behind green, others emerge clearly. Keep edges soft where branches meet foliage.

6. 06

   Add architectural detail and shadow

   Define building details: doorways, window openings, and stonework using darker, neutral browns and grays. Emphasize the warm ochre and tan tones on sun-struck walls to push them forward. Add subtle purple-gray shadows on building walls to hint at reflected light and atmospheric depth. Keep detail minimal but purposeful—suggest rather than delineate.

7. 07

   Build lichen and moss texture

   Layer lighter yellow-greens and muted sage-greens onto the lower and mid-level branches, creating a patchy, organic coverage that suggests age and weathering. Use small, irregular strokes and dabbing motions rather than smooth washes. The mossy areas should feel sticky and layered, with warm browns showing through in places where the lichen hasn't fully grown.

8. 08

   Unify and add final depth

   Step back and assess value relationships. Darken shadows on the building's right side and deepen the darkest branch shadows if needed. Add subtle warm or cool glazes to tie the scene together—a pale lavender wash over shadowed building areas, or a touch of ultramarine into deep branch shadows. Let the painting breathe; avoid overworking. The final painting should feel quiet and weathered, with the tree as the dominant presence and the buildings nestled beneath it.

• Making the tree canopy too uniform in color or too densely opaque—it should show variation from yellow-green to deep forest tones, with sky glimpses breaking the surface.
• Defining building edges too crisply or rendering windows and stonework too precisely; this painting prioritizes atmosphere and loose suggestion over architectural exactitude.
• Applying the dark trunk too early or too heavily, which locks in the composition before the surrounding shapes are established; let the tree develop in dialogue with the buildings and canopy.
• Overworking the lichen and moss texture with small, fussy detail instead of suggesting it with loose, spontaneous brushwork and layering.

beginner friendliness

value contrast

palette complexity

compositional simplicity

brushwork visibility