This piece represents my second attempt at drawing this little alleyway in Pari, Italia. After running several experiments with different colored inks, I decided to switch to sepia from the Van Dyke Brown that I had been using as of late. When it comes to underpainting, I realized that the Van Dyke Brown was too warm, especially in the areas of the shadows.

I played with a different style for doing the stone facing of the right wall as well, working to pack texture in without "closing" the form of the stones so that the painting as a whole would breathe even with the added detail. I used the same technique of painting in small swatches of color for the pavement of the alleyway, and used a large mop brush to give a sense of weathering by blurring and softening the sharp edges.

Like all of my paintings, this piece is an experiment in color and line. Although I used a fine mapping nib for the details of the stonework, I went out on a limb and used the thicker spoon nib to go over the contours of the alleyway in an attempt to pull the eye "into" the alley.

All in all, a fun exploration, and different representation, of this beautiful little nook tucked into the village of Pari.