About 15 years ago I visited Reunion Island, a French territory in the Indian Ocean. It is south of Seychelles, and east of Madagascar, at the end of the world! Honestly I felt crummy the whole trip due to the lengthy transit time, about 40 hours door to door via two planes and a long transfer in Paris, and then the altitude of staying on the heights of an old Volcano mountain in the main city st Denis. The whole place seemed a little unsafe with falling rocks and intense storms from the surrounding sea. This painting was done on location in the center of the island where there is a hidden valley and village famous for its flavoured rum and potent pot.
Cloudy blue mountains, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, 2011
This painting captures the general atmosphere of the island... a misty haze with intense colours. Looking more closely I see what appears to be aureolin yellow, I must have been still using it back then. I would have used bismuth vanadate if I was there now, although I have no desire to return. I am warming up to the idea of going to India though.
Palm tree haze, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, 2011
Down in the town, a Chinese food restaurant had this sign, I tried to copy the symbols accurately but who knows what it said. You can see in the background how intense the light was, and how most buildings had white and cream coloured plaster facades.
Chinese food sign, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, June 2026
No comments:
Post a Comment