Floored!

The floor of the alley is painted first making the distant tiles cooler (bluer) so they go back. Using colors saved from the roof tiles and terra-cotta pots the light and dark pattern on the cobblestones is blocked in.

With a thin mixture of MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + Liquin the crevices between the stones are indicated. Strokes of color from the awning, door and Wisteria are added to the cobbles to give the impression of reflections on the wet stones.

The cobblestones are now complete. Notice the “Threshold” shadow across the foreground. When the painting is finished you will see how your eye is drawn over the dark shadow to the sunlit areas of the piece.

Moving to the adobe building in the foreground I use Cadmium Orange + Pthalo Blue + White for the base mix. MUD  is added for the shadows. More White is used for the areas of the wall touched by the sun.

As I paint the walls I add strokes of Ultramarine Blue + White and MUD + White to bring interest and variation to the area. Old adobe is rough with quite a bit of texture. To accomplish the feeling I use several colors of close values to paint the walls. One of my readers asked about the colors on the wall to the left below the Wisteria. For that building a mix of Cadmium Orange + Ultramarine Blue + MUD + White was made. This adobe color was made bluer so the structure on the left would fall back. The underneath of the roof projecting out was drawn in with a wash of MUD + Liquin. Near the back Ultramarine Blue + a bit of White was added for depth. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

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