Painting a Waterfall | Alla Prima Technique

In this video, Richard Somonte captures the dramatic beauty of Victoria Falls, one of the most extraordinary natural landscapes in Africa, through the process of painting. Located on the Zambezi River between Zambia and Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls — known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya, “the Smoke That Thunders” — stretches for approximately 1,708 metres and forms a vast curtain of falling water surrounded by basalt gorges, mist and rainforest. The site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1989 for its exceptional natural beauty and geological significance. The falls have been shaped over geological time by the continuous erosion of the Zambezi through layers of basalt. The spectacular gorges below the present waterfall record the movement of the falls upstream, making Victoria Falls not only a landscape of extraordinary beauty, but also a living geological process. The name Mosi-oa-Tunya reflects the immense column of spray and mist generated by the falls. During periods of high water, the spray can rise hundreds of metres above the gorge and be visible from many kilometres away. In this painting, Richard Somonte translates the movement of water, light and atmosphere into oil paint, using the landscape as a starting point for an exploration of nature, movement and perception. Watch the painting evolve from the first marks to the finished work. #waterfall #VictoriaFalls #PaintingProcess #LandscapePainting #OilPainting #ContemporaryPainting #Zambezi #MosiOaTunya