This painting was created in Southern California at a resort in La Quinta.  The mix of Adobe-style architecture and radiant flowers made it interesting for me to paint.

	Ultramarine Blue Alizarin Crimson Cadmium Yellow Light Titanium White
I drew in my composition with a brush.

Since there wasn’t much going on in the sky, I immediately started to block that area in.  I wanted to get the sky color dark enough so I could key the rest of the color for the painting.

Working back to front, I painted the background trees, the roof, the bell tower, the yellow-green mimosa tree and the leafy mass of the middle ground bougainvillea.

I continued working towards the front of the picture plane with the bougainvillea.  I warmed the shadow color as it came forward to separate it from the middle plane of the picture, then laid down a middle tone for the cement path in the foreground.

I added the leaf mass of the bougainvillea and roughed in the flower pots.

Focusing on the color of the flowers, I attempted to get the pure intensity of color that originally attracted me to the scene.

I started the shadow areas of the walkway and courtyard.

Next step, I modeled the flower pots and the sidewalk and concentrated on the foliage in the courtyard.

Armand Cabrera   -  Adobe Garden    - 12 x 16 Oil

Finally, I added finishing touches, working all over the painting
unifying edges and tones and then cleaned up some brushwork.  
Total time from start to completion = 1 ½ hours.

Armand Cabrera is an award-winning fine artist represented by 8 galleries across the United States.  More information about Armand Cabrera can be seen on his website:
www.armandcabrera.com/