For the first stages of the Harbour painting, I mapped out a light covering of Naples Yellow where the sky on the left would be and the houses on the right.

For establishing the darker areas I used Raw Umber. This has a cooler, greener tone so works really well with the cool blues in the painting.  Once the Raw Umber was done I then introduced Titanium White, which helped to mix subtle greys between the Naples Yellow and Raw Umber. This is good for the shadows in the white buildings caught by the sunlight because it still has that nice warmth to it.  I also used a square edged brush to create nice building angles and edges.

Once I had laid out some of the more middle tones of the painting I began adding the bright blue. Phthalo Blue (green shade) is perfect for creating powerful green blues. I washed in the blue colour diluted with water. The blue over the Naples Yellow gives a nice green effect to the sea.  The bottom of the painting will remain a cooler green/blue so it will contrast with a warmer blue in the sky. By applying a thin glaze of Alizarin crimson permanent to the sky it created that nice warm transparent stain of colour.  I could then work over the top of the sky using a mix of Ultramarine blue and Titanium white keeping the sky smooth and clean in comparison to the more painterly foreground. Cadmium yellow light mixed with the Phthalo blue makes greener blues needed for the water and for the trees in the background. Adding reds and yellows in the middle ground add interest to the main focus of the painting and keeps the strong turquoise of the sea separate.