3305 Adobe Highrise
Jerry Yarnell – Inspiration of Painting PBS Television Series

A traditional adobe village rises from a quiet Southwestern landscape, with warm earth tones, textured walls, and soft desert surroundings reflected in a calm stream below. In this intermediate oil painting lesson, Jerry guides you step-by-step through creating this unique architectural scene in a 159 minute session on an 18x24 canvas, capturing the character and atmosphere of the Southwest.

You’ll learn how to work with water mixable (water miscible) oil paints, building the painting in layers to achieve depth and richness. Jerry demonstrates how to construct the adobe buildings with proper perspective, including flat surfaces, angles, and structural details that give the composition a solid, believable form.

Special focus is given to creating textured surfaces such as stucco walls, desert ground, and surrounding vegetation using varied brushwork and subtle color shifts. You’ll also explore how to paint reflections in water and distant hills with soft atmospheric perspective to enhance depth.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll gain confidence in combining architectural elements with landscape, handling texture and perspective, and creating a cohesive scene with strong visual interest. This is an excellent project for painters ready to develop more advanced skills while producing a distinctive Southwestern setting.