Sunday, January 14, 2024

World Inspired Landscapes: Kuwait

 


Kuwait is an oil rich country in the Middle East that is primarily desert climate. On Google map and image search every scene was an expanse of flat sand. I remember Kuwait as being at the center of operation desert storm, the American invasion of the middle east in the early 90's. I even had a set of trading cards with all the people involved. At least it seems to have stabilized by now and Kuwait is prosperous, not to mention blazing hot. To compose the scene I went full on with the desert idea and only showed a desert. It seemed like a simple enough painting but getting it right was a challenge and I had to paint it out twice. Because there is so little visual information, it means that everything has to be close to perfect to look remotely good. A few key elements to hit were the two-toned sky with yellow cast, the contrast between horizon and sky, and the greyish to beige gradation in the foreground. I added some textural elements to the foreground so as to get a bit of depth perception.
 

World Inspired Landscapes: Kuwait, watercolour 6 x 9" watercolour paper, January 2024

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