Alhambra, Granada, Spain

It was a long time ago, in a land far, far away. Granada Spain to be more precise, a major tourist destination in southern Spain that I visited in 1998. I stayed in Granada a few days, painting mostly monuments and interesting architecture, and drinking their aptly named beer, the Alhambra. As you can guess by the architecture the Alhambra was built by moors a long time ago when they controlled most of the south. The pointy/circle arch, and the pastel colours were quite unique.

Painting shadows, I've written about it so many times in my blog but it is just so important when doing landscapes. In reality shadows are filled with colour and light, both the colours from the object itself, and the colours reflected from nearby objects, and from the sky, all combine. Focusing on the shadow below the eave of the main building, you see that the pinkish colour of the wall is represented, as is the faint blue of the sky. The shadow below that, the one that slices across the front of the building has additional peach colouration that comes from the structure on the right. There are a number of ways to capture this effect... it was so long ago so it is difficult to say how I did it, but it looks like I established the colour of the entire wall first, let it dry, and then put a blue/brown wash on top. That's definately the easiest way to do it. I also used the technique of overlaying dark highlights on the shadow, look at the brick pattern above the main door, it provides a dark contrast that makes the shadow look very light and airy.

Another point to make is that this painting is maybe not technically the best, parts are crooked, the washes and edges are messy.... but who cares? When I look at this painting I distinctly remember the FEEL I had that day (even if I can't remember how I painted the shadows), and I hope the viewer gets the same sense. 

5x7" cold press. 1998