Santiago de Cuba, Street Scene

Midday sun illuminates a street corner in Santiago, with a tall yellow building dominating the right side and a blue-washed structure on the left receding into the composition. The light source is high and from the upper left, creating deep shadows beneath the overhanging structure at top and in the building interiors. A handful of small figures populate the pale street foreground, their scale emphasizing the architecture's dominance. The eye enters at the figures on the street, then travels up the yellow facade and into the atmospheric depth of the background.

The palette is anchored by a very light street surface (nearly white-tan) against which shadows read dramatically dark. The yellows and blues of the buildings occupy a middle-to-light range with clear sunlit and shadowed sides. The deepest darks appear in window openings and beneath eaves. Squint and you'll see three distinct value zones: the pale foreground street, the mid-value building facades, and the deeper recessed shadows that pull the eye through the composition.

• #d5c49f

  Yellow ochre + light touch of raw sienna

  The sunlit yellow building facade on the right and center; the brightest, warmest note in the painting

• #b2a993

  Yellow ochre + ultramarine blue (muted neutral)

  Mid-tone walls catching filtered light; transition zones between sun and shadow on both buildings

• #958569

  Raw sienna + ultramarine blue; earthy brown-gray

  Shadowed side of the yellow building; the terracotta roof tiles at the top; weathered lower wall sections

• #7c7e79

  Ultramarine blue + burnt umber; cool gray-brown

  Shadows beneath the overhanging roof structure; deep recesses of window openings; the shadowed face of the blue building

• #5e5a53

  Indigo + burnt umber; darkest neutral

  Window interiors and deepest architectural shadows; the silhouetted figures on the street

• #9a9687

  Raw sienna + indigo; warm-cool gray

  The pale street surface and its soft shadows; the light-struck upper portions of the blue building; soft gray passages in the sky

Edges are predominantly soft throughout, rendered with translucent glazes that suggest form rather than delineate it sharply. The street foreground is handled with minimal, confident strokes—a loose wash that establishes the plane without fussy detail. Building silhouettes are clean but not hard-edged, achieved by allowing washes to dry before overlaying shadow. The watercolor technique is evident in the layered, transparent quality; details like windows and door openings are darkened with glazes rather than outlined.

1. 01

   Sketch and establish the composition

   Lightly pencil the major architectural masses: the tall yellow building on the right, the blue structure on the left, the overhanging roof element at top, and the street plane. Mark the small figures' approximate positions on the street foreground. Keep proportions loose but clear—the buildings should feel tall and recessive.

2. 02

   Paint the sky and atmospheric backdrop

   Begin with a light wash of ultramarine blue in the upper half. While damp, drop in softer gray-white for clouds and let them diffuse naturally. The sky should have gentle, soft variation—not flat or stark. Leave a warm, light gap near the horizon line.

3. 03

   Lay in the main building facades with base color

   Paint the yellow building's sunlit face with a warm yellow ochre wash, keeping it fresh and luminous. Paint the blue building with a cooler, muted ultramarine-based wash that already suggests it's in less direct light. These are your primary color statements—keep them transparent and glowing.

4. 04

   Establish the street and ground plane

   Paint the pale foreground street with a light tan-gray wash (yellow ochre + touch of ultramarine). Keep it luminous and slightly warm, allowing it to recede naturally beneath the figures. The street should feel like one continuous horizontal plane catching consistent light.

5. 05

   Build shadows and establish three-dimensionality

   Apply darker glazes to the shadow-facing sides of buildings—the left face of the yellow building and the shadowed portions of the blue building. Use muted mixtures (raw sienna + ultramarine, or burnt umber + indigo) rather than pure darks. Darken deeply beneath the overhanging roof structure at top. These shapes should read as three-dimensional form, not flat silhouettes.

6. 06

   Paint window openings and architectural recession

   Glaze the window interiors and shadowed building recesses with your darkest mix (indigo + burnt umber). Don't outline them—let them recede as dark, hollow shapes that pull the eye inward. Add small warm accents (cadmium red dulled with umber) for window trim and door details. Windows anchor the structure's architectural presence.

7. 07

   Render the figures and check overall value relationships

   With your darkest mix, suggest the small silhouetted figures on the street—they should be tiny, shadowed forms that establish human scale. Darken portions of the street in shadow if needed. Step back and verify: the street should be notably lighter than any building mass, windows darker than walls, and background buildings slightly cooler and softer than foreground architecture.

8. 08

   Refine atmosphere and unify the composition

   Check for atmospheric recession: if the background buildings feel too sharp or close, lightly glaze them cooler and lighter to push them deeper. The yellow building's warmth should feel closest and most prominent. Add any final shadow refinements where architectural planes meet. The goal is a cohesive sense of receding tropical space under strong, direct midday light.

• Rendering the buildings too sharply or with too much linear precision—this work breathes with soft edges and transparent glazes, not crisp line-drawn definition.
• Making the yellow building too saturated or too bright—it needs warm glow but must remain harmonious with the cooler, muted surrounding tones to read as atmospheric.
• Painting pure opaque shadows instead of glazing transparent complementary mixtures—watercolor shadows live through layered color, not heavy pigment.
• Losing or minimizing the figures—they're small but essential anchors for scale and visual entry; establish their value and position early so they don't disappear during refinement.

beginner friendliness

value contrast

palette complexity

compositional simplicity

brushwork visibility