Peru has a long history and perhaps one of the longest history of civilization that goes back to very ancient times. Even in the pre-Columbian era it was incredibly diverse, both culturally and with its flora and fauna. Like many South American countries, they gained relative freedom when the Spanish Empire collapsed in the early 19th century. It seems the country has had continuous difficulties politically and environmentally. Open pit mining and deforestation are big problems there, made worse by climate change. Its a big country too, over 35 million people and an enormous metropolis of Lima. To make the painting, instead of researching it on the internet or with books, I asked Cilei to explain to me what Peru was like since she has actually been there. As she related the stories I made this interpretive painting, the colours she mentioned were grey and caramel, with green, and a mostly 'vertical' appearing landscape. Then she continued with a story of how when the train stopped a large group of indigenous local people seemingly came out of nowhere and tried to sell goods to the people on the train. So I was running out of space on the sheet with all the experiences she had in Peru, you see the train scene on the bottom and the grey, caramel and green mountainous landscape with open spaces in the background.
World Inspired Landscapes: Peru, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2024
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