This original artwork is inspired by a last-minute city break to Rome. Having never visited the Eternal City before, I arrived with plenty of expectations, but it was a small scene away from the main tourist sights that caught my imagination.

A tiny park beside a road junction provided the perfect combination of architecture, water, trees and sky. Seen at night, the lighting created a wonderful balance between light and shade, while the round ancient temple, fountain and framing trees came together almost perfectly in the composition.

For once, there was very little artistic adjustment needed. The scene seemed to have arranged itself. The only addition was the Vespa, which felt like an essential finishing touch to a Roman street scene!

The ancient structure is the Temple of Hercules Victor, one of the many surviving remnants of ancient Rome. Dating from around the 2nd century BC, it stands in Piazza Bocca della Verità, between the River Tiber and the Aventine Hill. In the foreground is the Fontana dei Tritoni, an 18th-century fountain dating from the early Rococo period.

Away from Rome's famous monuments, this little corner of the city provided exactly the kind of atmospheric subject I love to draw – where ancient architecture, everyday life and dramatic evening light come together.

Subject: Temple of Hercules Victor, Rome

Medium: Ink pen and ink wash

Surface: Bristol 500 smooth paper

Image size: 39.3x29cm

Framed: No

Original: Yes

Certificate of Authentication: Yes

Artist: Graham McKenzie-Smith