Niger is a landlocked country in the center of Africa, the vast majority of its land is the Sahara desert. Some greenery in the south of the country can be found along the Niger River which is the namesake for the country. Niger was a French colony for a long time, but even longer before that, like 280,000 BC, there is evidence of stone tools made by early humans. Between 1880 and 1912, Africa was essentially carved up by the European powers including France, United Kingdom, Spain,Italy, German Empire, Portugal, Belgium, and several others. It wouldn't be until about 1960's onwards that many African countries regained sovereignty. They have had a string of military regimes ever since. Looking at a map of Niger shows a lot of desert and a lot of heat. In the painting, you see a hazy sand-filled atmosphere with an orange/red sun and violet mountains. The sand was done with yellow ochre, (PY43) then mixed with the purple (PV55 + PB60) to make the sand shadows. A few groups of trees done in dark green and dark brown help to bring out the foreground contrasts.
World Inspired Landscapes: Niger, watercolour 9 x 12" watercolour paper, June 2024
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