Sicilian afternoon, Ragusa.

A hill town rises in tiers of ochre and pink houses culminating in a church with a blue onion dome and slender bell tower silhouetted against a pale sky. Balconies with wrought-iron railings, arched doorways, and a line of hung laundry animate the tightly packed facades, while a small figure crosses the sunlit lane in the lower foreground, dwarfed by the buildings above.

Built up with a palette knife, the paint sits in thick ridges of gold, rust, and lavender-grey shadow, giving the stonework a rough, sun-baked texture. Cool blue sky and violet shadows balance the warm ochre walls, and the loose, textured handling captures the glare of a Mediterranean afternoon in a lively, sunstruck impression.