Tony Foster, Corcovado: March 24, 1992: The Pacific Looking West North West from the Sendero Rio Claro, 1992  |  Watercolor and graphite on paper  |  10 x 13 5/8 in.  |  1991.1.17 — Tony Foster, *Corcovado: March 24, 1992: The Pacific Looking West North West from the Sendero Rio Claro*, 1992 | Watercolor and graphite on paper | 10 x 13 5/8 in. | 1991.1.17

Tony Foster Journey 6 | 1991–93 | 36 artworks

Rainforest Diaries: Watercolours from Costa Rica

Painting locations: Costa Rica

As a leader in conservation efforts, Costa Rica was the ideal country for Tony Foster to explore and paint. The neotropics, however, presented a completely new set of challenges for the artist. Creating large-format watercolor paintings in one of the most humid, rainy environments on the planet meant Foster needed to work quickly and find ways to keep his pieces dry. In addition, the oppressive heat, mud, biting insects, and dangerous snakes also tried his patience, and the complexity of dense rainforest understory was unlike any open landscape he had previously painted. The resultant works from this journey are richly colored and dominated by lush green hues. Foster captures both the intricacy of the rainforest as well as its vastness. He spent time becoming acquainted with some of the local fauna along the way, choosing to paint insects, frogs, birds, reptiles, and mammals as watercolor studies. As a way of honoring the ecosystem, he also decided to donate a percentage of sales from these paintings to purchase rainforest acreage for conservation purposes.