I have always been fascinated with ancient architecture. One of the new 7 wonders of the world – the Colosseum of Rome is replete with its own intriguing tales and historical accounts. Interestingly even after centuries of constant weathering, natural disasters and vandalism, the Colosseum still hasn’t lost its magnificence and charm.
This watercolor painting of the Colosseum was done on 10×12 inches handmade paper of 300 gsm thickness. It took me roughly around 4 hours to finish. Check the time lapse video of the painting process if you are in a hurry.
The Skies Above
Once the outline sketch is done I proceed with painting the sky. I used a mix of cobalt blue and ultramarine blue for that. Starting from the top I drop the color on the paper and pull it downwards with varying loads of water to create the effect of light clouds in the sky, carefully leaving the white space for the building structure.
First Wash
Next I start to put down the first light wash for the Colosseum walls. Although it was originally constructed in stone the actual color and finish is no longer there. With years of weathering the colors have turned into different shades of grey and brown at some places. For this I figured it would be best if I used the wet in wet technique. Mixing some burnt sienna to ochre yellow I paint a very light wash first almost 90% water. Once the paper is sufficiently wet I add darker and stronger tones especially at the bottom portion which are supposed to be under shade. Finally with a light green wash at the bottom I let the paint dry.
Architectural Details
When the upper half of the paper is completely dry I start adding the details to the building itself. It is very important to make sure that there is no moisture in the paper left or your colors will start to bleed and mix with the lower layer. For the top portion of the Colosseum I use different colors like Mauve, Ochre Yellow, Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine Blue. You can experiment with different colors as long as you are making sure the values and tonal variations are right. If at some point you feel that the wash has become too watery or you are finding puddles on your paper just use some tissue paper to lift up the excess water. This is a great technique for correcting mistakes as well.
Once I was convinced with the basic color composition of the scene and had covered all the areas I started with adding more details. The highlight of this scene are the stone masonry, arches and shadows. For best results consider keeping your brush relatively dry to recreate the rustic effect of age old stone and bricks. I use a thin rigger brush to paint the finer details like cornices, columns and other architectural elements.
Theory of Relativity
When drawing architectural illustrations it is a good idea to give a sense of scale of the building. A great way to do that is to paint people and other elements like fences or street lights in the painting so that the viewer can get an idea of the relative size and proportion. I didn’t use many colors (basically just black) for that because I didn’t want to distribute the focus between the structure above and the crowd below.
The Ground Below
Finally to add more detail to the grass at the bottom mixed some Sap Green with a hint of Raw Umber and Prussian Blue with very little water using a dry brush brush and make fast horizontal strokes on the paper to get a hit and miss effect.
I hope you liked this little painting walk through. Stay tuned for more more posts!
Check out my Youtube Channel for more time lapse art and illustration videos. I can also be found on Instagram @tauseefstudio (architecture) @taucf.ink (automotive)