Corner in the Canal, Livorno

Watercolor painting of a quiet corner in Livorno. Italy is such a wonderful place to paint because the light is so bright. I really enjoyed looking at the way the sun hits the old buildings next to the water. The tall walls have so many lovely textures that work well with wet paint.

For the buildings, I chose to use warm colours like Light Red and Cadmium Red. I also added some Yellow Ochre to show the warm glow of the afternoon sun. I think these red tones look great against the blue of the sky and the water. I used a mix of Cobalt Blue and Ultramarine Blue for the canal to make it look deep and cool.

The boats were fun to paint because they are just simple white shapes. I used a little bit of white paint at the end to make the highlights really pop. The shadows under the boats are quite dark. I used some Neutral Tint mixed with blue to create those deep areas. It helps to make the boats look like they are really floating on the water.