Atrani is on the Amalfi coast in southwest Italy.

On our tour through Italy this summer I hoped to be able to visit Atrani as it was the location for the Netflix film ‘Ripley’ Based on the 1999 film ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ starring Matt Damon. The new version is moodily filmed in black and white and we can see why. The whole town seems to be frozen in time somewhere around 1955. There’s a labyrinth of shady tunnels and alleyways which were perfect for creating an atmosphere. This is why I decided that I’d paint Atrani in monotone.

Here’s the original photo from which I worked. Scroll down to see how I built up the scene..

 

 

 

This photo shows my original watercolour sketch in my small travel journal as well as the final artwork completed in my 9 x 12 spiral-bound journal from Arteza. We give all our guests one of these art pads plus a set of travel brushes and a travel palette. The pad has really good quality 300gsm/140lb watercolour paper, perfect for both sketching and painting and make a really good memento of their painting holiday.

 

 

I”ve added a step-by-step guide below but thought you might like to see the initial frames in a slightly larger format.

Frame 1: The initial sketch.

I started by sketching the main shapes in – the cliffs, the church, the distant hills and the curve of the beach. Once you have these drafted out, you can add details – take your time!

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Frame 2: The first wash.

Once I was happy with the detailed sketch, I mixed up a thin wash of Payne’s grey in my palette and added the clouds and distant hills, as well as a light wash on the main wall and the seashore. While the washes dried, I slightly strengthened the Payne’s grey mix ready for the next layer. Let dry and repeat!

 The step-by-step guide to print out.