Advancing with Watercolor: The Textures of Tuscany - Hilltop Views

THE HILLTOP TOWNS

Tuscany is mostly mountainous and most of the towns and villages have grown up on the tops of these hills or mountains…giving those who live here a sense of security as well a super strong calf muscles!!! They were built this way to give the villagers a means of defense - you can see the armies coming well before they arrive and muster the men to greet them.

For artists these hilltop towns hive us a birdseye view over the hills as they fade into the distance. Today’s image comes from the hilltop towns Tuscany of San Gimignano  - particularly famous for the towers that stand looking over the valley - our view is only of the valley below and presents challenges. The challenge of creating a vast space that stretches to the mist horizon in one challenge. We can meet this challenge using soft edges. The whole of the upper third of this painting is done with soft edges

Also through using more blue and less yellow - This combination helps us to create the vast space we experience

Another means for us is to use similar shapes at different parts of the composition

Tall Cyprus trees repeated in the foreground , mid ground and distance help us to convey depth in the painting. Felilds that diminish in size, trees and structures - n awareness of these repeated shapes and how they diminish in the distance is VERY helpful when creating such a space

As we come closer we use larger shapes, stronger contrast brighter color…these help us create the illusion.