Venezuela has some of the most spectacular landscapes in the world, including the highest waterfall in the world, Angel Falls, and the picturesque Mount Raraima with its tall black peaks and granite reflecting pools. One can easily find such images on the internet as tourists often visit. I've had the pleasure of working with several Venezuelans in research, they were from Caracas, which is depicted in the painting. They also seemed very happy to have left Caracas, it is only the wealthy educated people who can easily emigrate to other countries. The images that struck me the most were the sprawling communities on the steep mountain sides, these are small brick shanties with a simple roof and window, with a water collector on the roof. Its hard to even see where the roads are, most of the abodes are only accessible by foot. We saw communities like this in São Paulo first hand, some extended family even lived there. Unfortunately, the living conditions are dreadful, and most of these communities are run by drug traffickers, their houses are closer to the top and built with lavish construction and fencing. Its too hard for the city to police or service these regions, so they are mostly left to their own devices. From a landscape perspective what struck me was how the contours of the mountains could be discerned from the undulations and shadows of the sprawling shanty structures. In the background, soaring white condos house the wealthy.
To paint it, I first painted the contours and shadows of the underlying mountains, then I painted over the foreground structures in detail, and used a more abstract pattern towards the background. A few trees popping up here and there completed the effect. I had no idea if this painting would work out, looking at it now, I see the mountain undulations, and feel the shock of realizing that the entire area is covered in tiny brick houses.
World Inspired Landscapes: Venezuela, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, May 2025
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