As a geographer, I have long been fascinated by maps - which led to the idea of Looking Down for painting. As a result, I have used both as inspirations for different kinds of paintings. - and love painting them as it takes me back to places I know. All my map paintings are based on areas I have lived in - and I have little interest in seeking out maps of places I cannot visualise! They become like virtual tours of the scenes themselves!
It is interesting to see them all together like this, as I can see that the possibilities could be endless. Faithfulness to the map itself, then colour and line are what end up creating the shapes and the aesthetic interest. I love doing them as I revisit places I know well on foot- I like walking down the steets again, or going over a bridge, or visiting a pub, a dress shop or an art gallery!
Looking Down offers other possibilities and a few are shown in the gallery below. A single click on the image will bring them up individually.