World Inspired Landscapes: Latvia

After some chilly afternoon painting downtown I returned and did a part palette cleanser part World Inspired Landscape based on Latvia. Latvia has a history of being ruled by one of the regional superpowers, Germany for the most part, but more recently it was part of the former Soviet Union. Since the late 20th Century it has been independent and belongs to the European Union and other global groups. Quite wealth, Latvia also protects its nature with large reserves and one of the highest percentage of land that is still forested. Under Soviet rule much of the forest had been plowed over for inefficient farms, but since then Latvia underwent campaigns of land restoration and improved farming efficiency to use less land. A combination of forest and swamp, the landscape is mostly flat and a lot like one of its neighbors, Estonia. Perhaps it was just the gloomy blue and grey paintings I had done earlier today, but I felt like infusing this painting with warm, fall colours. Basically scribbling the paint on I quickly created this lush and colourful forest and swamp scene for the series. Just Lebanon and Liberia to go and I have reached the half way point of the world's many countries.  

World Inspired Landscapes: Latvia, watercolour 9 x 12" watercolour paper, January 2024