Plaza Virgen de la Peña, Mijas, Spain

People often ask me how I choose what to paint when a scene has so many things going on. The answer is usually about the shapes and how they lead your eye through the paper. In this painting of Plaza Virgen de la Peña in Mijas, I was really happy with the big round building. It looks a bit like a giant wedding cake with all those different levels and orange roofs.

I started the story of this painting in the bottom left corner. Do you see the white stripes of the pedestrian crossing? I used these simple shapes to point you into the middle of the square. From there, your eyes follow the line of parked cars. Painting cars can be tricky, but here they act like a path that leads you right up to the main building. I used some Ultramarine Blue and a bit of Cobalt Blue to make the shadows under the cars look cool and deep.

The big building has a lot of warm colours on top. I used Cadmium Red and Burnt Sienna to get that bright Spanish feel for the tiles. I like how the bright white of the walls sits next to the dark shadows under the shop covers. It creates a strong contrast which is very important in watercolour. If you look closely, you can see how the curved lines of the balconies help show the round shape of the tower.

In the sky, I wanted a soft feel to balance the hard edges of the shops. I mixed some Cerulean Blue with plenty of water to keep it light. I left some of the white paper showing to look like bright clouds. This helps the whole scene feel like a hot, sunny day in Spain. Using a few different blues helps the sky look more natural than just using one flat colour.