World Inspired Landscapes: Samoa

Samoa is a remote island-nation in the south pacific ocean, the closest location you may know is Fiji, and even that is over 1000 km to the south! Despite its remoteness, it was briefly occupied by German Empire, and afterwards without violence it was ruled by New Zealand until its independence. Like most of these locations, the islands have steep interiors due to volcanic activity, surrounded by lush vegetation and wide valleys. When a volcano erupts it leaves a cone of debris which steadily erodes, leaving the molten core behind. Called a volcanic plug, these cores stand tall on the landscape, such the ones I painted under the giraffe in the Cameroon painting. This one shows a volcanic mountain off in the distance and a typical beach in the foreground. Since this was a rare place where the indigenous culture and people seemed to have existed without too much outside influence, I wanted the painting to feature some cultural element. A famous ritual involves swirling of fire-batons in a circle, which creates a spinning disc of light. I omitted the person that would be behind such a display, instead showing the landscape at night. Using my experience from painting on location, I could mix all the necessary colours and make the fire pop.
 To make the fire effect, first I outlined in light orange, then filled in the entire background. To finish, a bright orange outline, with a bright yellow outline were added to make the fire seem to be alive. The inside of the fire is just white paper, but the dark background and glow-effect on the sand gives it the illusion of being bright.

World Inspired Landscapes: Samoa, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, March 2025