I often start these blogs with a description of the history of the region, and Togo has much the same story as Ghana to the west or Benin to the east. The whole coast was invaded initially by Portuguese and Dutch empires who began trans-Atlantic slavery. After independence, Togo has been slowly gaining economic strength through resources such as cotton, and agriculture. Rich in phosphate, they have access to cheap fertilizer, although many other staples have to be imported. Near the coast it is partially forested with lagoons and rivers, while the central area of the country is savanna with mountain plateaus, giving way to desert in the north. One success story has been bee keeping, with over 2000 bee keepers now running small businesses in Togo. The bees get pollen off of flowers and in particular mangroves are a good source. Most of the images I saw were of conventional looking bee houses, some painted with elaborate decorations and flags, and there were a few images of natural bee hives like the one in the painting. African bees are a pest in North America, but in Africa, they are well, just bees. It was ambitious to paint a giant ball of bees. I started with a purplish-grey under painting then dabbed in three-segment bee bodies using a mix of yellow ochre (PY43) and yellow (PY154). Then I painted in the brown blobs and stripes using a mix of burnt umber (PBr7) and indo blue (PB60). Beforehand, I made some detailed sketches of the anatomy of a bee. The landscape by the way, is along the bottom, its a typical tan-and-olive green landscape with the occasional palm tree.
World Inspired Landscapes: Togo, watercolour 7 x 10" hot press, April 2025
No comments:
Post a Comment