Italy. Assisi

Warm, direct light pours from the upper left, illuminating a sunlit plaza that becomes the painting's dominant bright mass—almost white-cream but with strategic warm undertones. The plaza is enclosed by ochre and cream buildings that frame deep, cool purple-brown shadow areas beneath arcades and overhangs. The eye travels immediately to the bright plaza floor (the highest value in the composition), then outward to the enclosed building facades, and finally to the hazy green mountains beyond. Two potted trees and a fountain occupy the foreground plaza, their shadows stretching diagonally with the light.

The value range is bold and clean: the plaza reads as nearly white against medium-value building facades in warm creams and ochres. Darkest darks appear as deep purple-brown shadows under the building arcades and in the doorway openings. When you squint, the composition resolves into three clear value groups—bright plaza, medium buildings, and dark shadow cavities—with minimal mid-tone muddiness between them.

• #d6ccc3

  Titanium white + touch of Raw Sienna + whisper of Cadmium Yellow

  The bright plaza floor, which is the compositional anchor and lightest light

• #c3b09f

  Cadmium Yellow + Burnt Sienna + white (warm beige midtone)

  The center building facades and lighter walls throughout the plaza

• #b99679

  Cadmium Orange + Burnt Sienna + white

  The warm terracotta tones on the left building and right-side warm facades, creating the sun-facing planes

• #7c6159

  Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson + Burnt Sienna

  The deep purple-brown shadows under arcades, in doorways, and beneath building overhangs

• #998e8f

  Ultramarine Blue + Raw Sienna + touch of white

  Shadow-side walls and the cooler grays in shaded areas of the plaza perimeter

The painting employs soft, simplified edges throughout—window and door openings are suggested with loose marks rather than precisely drawn. Shadows are applied with directional, confident brushstrokes that follow the geometry of forms; you can see the painter's hand in swift, angular marks especially in the sky. The plaza floor itself stays relatively soft and blurred at its edges, while the building details show loose handling with rooflines simplified and architectural elements stated boldly but not laboriously.

1. 01

   Establish sky and composition

   Paint the upper half with cool, pale lavender-blue transitioning to warm cream-white near the horizon. Block in the hazy green-brown mountains with a soft, indistinct edge. This establishes the atmospheric perspective and the cool-to-warm temperature shift.

2. 02

   Reserve the plaza as the light foundation

   Cover the plaza floor area with very light, warm cream (nearly white with a touch of raw sienna). Keep edges soft and let this bright shape breathe—it's the compositional heart. Don't worry about detail yet; focus on protecting this light value.

3. 03

   Block in warm and cool building masses

   Paint the left building with warm ochre and orange-rust tones (sun-facing plane). Use cooler creams and pale whites for the center and right buildings (shadow-facing planes). Establish the warm/cool divide that gives the scene dimension and light direction.

4. 04

   Anchor deep shadows under arcades

   Apply dark purple-brown (Ultramarine + Alizarin + Sienna) into the shadowed arcade areas, doorway openings, and beneath building overhangs. These darks are crucial—they're not black but a specific warm-purple brown that contrasts sharply with the bright plaza. Let them have rough, directional edges.

5. 05

   Define individual buildings and suggest architecture

   Using a darker version of each building's base color, suggest windows with loose rectangular marks, add roofline shadows, and hint at balconies and doorways. Work loosely—a few well-placed marks imply architecture without fussy detail. Pay attention to how shadows fall on each facade.

6. 06

   Paint fountain, trees, and foreground shadows

   Place the fountain structure in the plaza with simple geometric marks. Add two potted trees with olive-green foliage and dark trunks in the lower foreground. Paint their shadows stretching across the plaza in the direction of the sun (leftward and downward), using the same purple-brown shadow color used in the arcades.

7. 07

   Soften and unify plaza edges and add atmospheric touches

   Gently soften where the bright plaza meets the buildings so it feels like one continuous light plane. Add a few accent marks—a rusty iron lantern bracket on the left building, subtle variations in the plaza's tone—but resist over-detailing. Step back and check that the plaza remains the dominant bright shape.

• Over-blending the plaza floor: it should retain directional brushwork and soft edges rather than becoming a perfectly smooth, airbrushed surface
• Making the buildings too geometrically precise or adding too much architectural detail—simplification and suggestion are key to maintaining the expressionistic energy
• Painting the shadows as pure black or muddy gray instead of the specific warm purple-brown that unifies them with the painting's earth-tone palette
• Losing atmospheric perspective by making the background mountains too sharp or saturated; they should remain soft, hazy, and cool in the distance

beginner friendliness

value contrast

palette complexity

compositional simplicity

brushwork visibility