View of Amalfi from the Gulf of Salerno

Light strikes from the upper right, warming the left-facing cliffs and bleaching the sky to pale cream. The eye travels from the dark rocky mass on the left (with its solitary tower accent), across the bright cascade of white-and-tan buildings clustered at the shoreline, then out into the hazy mountains dissolving at the right horizon. Foreground water bristles with activity—at least six boats of varying sizes, each crewed with working figures arranged in loose groupings, anchoring the view at human scale. The composition reads as three distinct planes: the foreground bay teeming with life, the vertically stacked town and cliffs occupying the middle ground, and the distant mountain silhouette dissolving into luminous haze.

The darkest darks are concentrated in two places: the deeply shadowed rocky cliffs and the silhouetted figures and boats in the foreground water. The town's cream-colored buildings form a distinct middle-light value group that stands out sharply against both the darker cliffs and the luminous sky. The sky itself is one of the lightest elements—pale cream fading to warmer yellow near the horizon. When you squint, three masses emerge: dark (cliffs/foreground figures), light-medium (water with boats), and very light (buildings and sky). The water itself reads as a cooler mid-tone that acts as a calm stage for the darker boats.

• #f8eed1

  lead white + raw sienna + touch of cadmium yellow

  upper sky and building highlights; the brightest passages

• #e3e0cd

  lead white + yellow ochre + raw sienna

  the dominant tone of the town buildings and shadowed sky areas

• #624f39

  burnt sienna + ultramarine + burnt umber

  the rocky cliffs, deep shadows on boats, and figures

• #857b63

  yellow ochre + ultramarine + white

  the hillside vegetation and mid-tone shadows on the buildings

• #b0aa92

  raw sienna + lead white + touch of ultramarine

  the lighter sandy tones on the cliffs and subtle mid-tones

The rocky cliff is painted with directional, almost sculptural brushstrokes that follow the geological planes, creating a rough, faceted surface. Buildings are rendered with crisper, more deliberate edges where light catches them, but these edges soften as they recede. The distant mountains are nearly featureless, with edges dissolved and blended into the hazy sky—this is where atmospheric perspective is most apparent. Water is handled with fluid, horizontal strokes that suggest movement and reflectivity. Boats and figures are simplified with economical brushwork; detail is sacrificed for gestural accuracy.

1. 01

   Composition and value underpainting

   Lightly sketch the three spatial zones: the rocky cliff mass on the left, the town's building cluster in the center-middle, and the distant mountain slope on the right. Block in values with burnt sienna and ultramarine to establish the darkest cliffs, mid-tone water, and lightest sky. Pay attention to the horizon line—it's slightly left of center, placing the town prominently. The foreground water should read as a distinct band of value before the boats are added.

2. 02

   Sky and atmospheric haze

   Paint the sky from top to bottom, starting with pale cream and warming to pale yellow near the horizon. The upper third should feel quite distant and cool; the lower sky warmer. Don't make it perfectly even—there are subtle warm-cool shifts. The distant mountains should be suggested with the palest blue-gray, barely distinguishable from the sky itself. This is where atmospheric perspective begins; everything distant is washed in haze.

3. 03

   Rocky cliffs and tower

   Build the left-side cliff with layered applications of burnt sienna, ultramarine, and ochre, working darker and warmer in the shadowed areas. Notice how the cliff face has distinct planes and facets—each catches light differently. The tower is a thin vertical accent in a warm ochre-brown; keep it simple and relatively small or it will dominate. The cliff should feel solid and massive, anchoring the entire composition.

4. 04

   Town buildings and hillside

   Paint the buildings in their dominant cream-white tone (white + raw sienna + yellow ochre), placing them carefully along the shoreline. They cascade up the hillside in a loose cluster, not perfectly aligned. Add warm ochre shadows on the building faces facing away from the light source. The green-brown hillside behind them should be darker (ultramarine + raw sienna) but not black—it supports the buildings without overwhelming them. Notice how the buildings are brightest where they face the light and progressively darker as they recede.

5. 05

   Water and spatial depth

   Paint the water with a cooler, mid-tone base—yellow ochre + ultramarine + white for the light areas, deeper blues in the shadows. The water should feel calm but responsive to light, with subtle warm reflections near the town. The water's value is crucial: it must read darker than the sky and buildings but lighter than the foreground boats and figures, creating visual recession. Add gentle horizontal brushstrokes to suggest surface movement without making it agitated.

6. 06

   Boats and working figures

   Place boats of varying sizes across the foreground water—some with sails, some without, some closer, some farther. Paint them with warm brown and ultramarine, keeping them darker and more sharply defined than distant elements. The figures inside the boats are small but active; suggest them with quick, economical strokes in warm reddish-brown. Group them loosely: some boats cluster together, others sit more isolated. This variation creates narrative and compositional interest. Don't paint every figure as a complete form; imply activity with gesture.

7. 07

   Atmospheric effect and edges

   Soften edges selectively: the cliff and foreground boats should remain fairly crisp, while the distant mountains should have almost no defined edges—they should blur into the sky. The buildings are sharp where sunlit, softer in shadow. Use a light glaze of pale cream mixed with ultramarine over the distant mountains to push them back further. The tower should remain a clear vertical accent, but resist the urge to outline it—let it be defined by value alone.

8. 08

   Final adjustments and details

   Step back and assess the three value zones: make sure the cliff reads darkest, the buildings and water read mid-tone to mid-light, and the sky reads as the lightest overall. The horizon line should be subtle, not a harsh division. Add tiny details last—a mast, a sail curve, the suggestion of rope on a boat, a figure's posture. These small touches should enhance rather than clutter the composition. The painting should feel peaceful and luminous, not fussy.

• The distant mountains are so pale and hazy that students often overstate them with color or value, pushing them forward when they should recede. Resist adding detail or making them darker—let them dissolve.
• The white buildings are tempting to paint too bright. They should be luminous but not pure white; they're cream-toned and have warm shadows that make them sit correctly in the landscape.
• Boats and figures are easy to paint too large or too detailed. They're small accents, not the focus. Simplify them or they'll dominate and flatten the perspective.
• The rocky cliff's faceting can look either too uniform (boring) or too chaotic (confused). Study where light and shadow naturally fall on angular forms; the shadows should follow the geological planes.
• The transition from the warm foreground to the cool, hazy background is subtle and easily lost. If the entire painting reads as uniformly warm, the atmospheric depth collapses—the distant elements must cool down.

beginner friendliness

value contrast

palette complexity

compositional simplicity

brushwork visibility