Olshtin, the Castle

This expressionist town square centers on a white church or civic building with a red-pitched roof and prominent cross, flanked by warm yellow and cream facades arranged around a paved plaza. The deep blue sky dominates the upper portion, creating strong atmospheric recession and making the light-colored buildings advance. Light enters from the upper left, warming the left yellow facade with golden tones and casting cool blue-gray shadows beneath the distinctive arches of that building. Two figures—one in dark clothing, one in pale—occupy the foreground; a yellow car sits parked on the left; a muted green tree marks the center-back. The eye moves first to the red roof and cross, the strongest vertical and chromatic accent.

The painting operates in a high-key structure with three distinct value zones: a medium-dark atmospheric blue sky, warm light-colored building facades, and a pale neutral pavement. The darkest values concentrate in the arch shadows, window openings, and the figures' clothing. When squinted, the composition resolves into simple silhouetted masses of clear value separation. Within the buildings themselves, value shifts subtly—the cream and pale yellow advance against the sky purely through value contrast rather than local color variation.

• #545b5a

  Ultramarine Blue + Burnt Sienna + Titanium White

  Deep shadows beneath the left building's arches and dark window openings

• #b2bbb6

  Titanium White + Ultramarine Blue + Raw Sienna

  The pale gray facade on the right side of the square

• #74807c

  Ultramarine Blue + Yellow Ochre + Titanium White

  Shaded areas on building facades and mid-tone transitional areas

• #8a8e7f

  Sap Green + Yellow Ochre + touch of Ultramarine Blue

  The muted green tree foliage behind the central white building

• #a2a699

  Yellow Ochre + Ultramarine Blue + Titanium White

  Warm cream-toned building facades and the majority of the pavement

• #bfc4b8

  Titanium White + Yellow Ochre + touch of Ultramarine Blue

  Pale facades, pavement highlights, and the brightest lit building surfaces

The brushwork is loose and expressive throughout, prioritizing atmospheric effect over architectural precision. Edges are predominantly soft and dissolved, especially where the sky meets the buildings; some edges emerge through value contrast alone while others are intentionally lost. Windows and arches are indicated with minimal marks—a few horizontal or vertical strokes suffice rather than careful rendering. Shadows read as transparent washes that blend with underlying color. The two figures are nearly calligraphic silhouettes requiring only a few confident strokes each.

1. 01

   Establish the composition

   Lightly sketch the building positions, the square's horizon line, the central white building with its cross, and the two figures' placement. Keep this map loose; precision emerges through value and color, not line work.

2. 02

   Paint the sky

   Lay down the deep blue sky as a single wash across the upper portion. Make it darker than your instinct suggests—this receding value is what makes the pale buildings sing forward. Leave the paper bare where sky meets building; you'll refine that edge later.

3. 03

   Paint the main facades

   Block in the left yellow building with its golden tone, the central white building in near-white or pale cream, and the right gray facade. Keep these washes loose and fluid. Don't outline buildings; let the sky value define their edges. Model the facades subtly with the muted palette colors as you go.

4. 04

   Render the arches and shadow detail

   While the building washes are still damp or immediately after, paint the prominent arches on the left with the darkest gray-blue (#545b5a). Add window openings as dark silhouettes—they should read instantly without detail. Include the red roof and the cross on the central building with a few decisive marks.

5. 05

   Paint the pavement

   Lay down the foreground plaza in a pale warm cream tone, letting it extend across most of the lower half. While still damp, drop in slightly cooler or darker accents to suggest the ground's subtle recession toward the buildings. This wash anchors the composition spatially.

6. 06

   Add the tree

   Paint the green tree mass behind the central building in loose, gestural strokes using the muted olive-green. Keep it sketchy and simple; it's a foil for the white building and a vertical accent, not a botanical study. Three or four brushstrokes of varied green tones suffice.

7. 07

   Place the figures

   Add the dark figure on the left foreground and the lighter figure on the right with minimal brushwork—each can be just a silhouette in its general clothing color. A figure requires only three strokes: body, head, arm. They are scale indicators, not the focus.

8. 08

   Refine values and finish

   Step back and assess the overall value structure. Strengthen contrasts where they feel weak—deepen the darkest shadows, brighten key highlights. Soften the sky-to-building edges by lightly wet-blending. The painting should read as a unified atmospheric scene in which all elements—buildings, sky, figures—occupy the same light.

• Making the yellow facades too saturated or bright; they must sit in harmony with the cool sky and muted grays or the piece loses its atmospheric unity. Let the surrounding neutrals temper the yellows.
• Rendering the sky too uniform or too pale—it should be notably darker than the buildings and carry subtle temperature shifts to enhance atmospheric depth and recession.
• Over-rendering architectural detail (arches, windows, ornament) instead of suggesting form through shadow and value alone. The painting's power lies in simplification and gestural marks.
• Allowing the figures to become too detailed or too prominent; they are gestural accents for human scale and narrative grounding, not focal points. Restraint is essential.

beginner friendliness

value contrast

palette complexity

compositional simplicity

brushwork visibility