I thought I'd share a few quick shots of the Sant' Antimo Tuscan landscape I've been working on. The first color I lay in is the sky and clouds and distant mountains. The clouds will be the lightest value in the painting, so I want to "key" that in at the start.

Next come the darkest values- the majestic cypress trees so prevalent in Tuscany. At this point I also establish a rough lay in of the shadows of the abbey and cypresses:

Once that's done I set about fleshing out the rest of the painting. No highlights on these areas yet. But I am establishing some of the wonderful patterns in the terraced hillside and distant landscape.