Thursday, August 1, 2013

birds eye views

I love birds eye view perspectives. Many past works have featured landscapes, townscapes viewed from above. I especially like it when the view is from only a few stories above...creating a dollhouse, miniature world version things.  I was digging in my studio drawers this week and came across this watercolour which I did in 2001, when I lived in Point Lonsdale, Australia...at the time I was interested in recording the fun things that our life there included...which was the Ripview Swim Classic....so it's very illustrative...but one thing I noticed is that it also has that same 'from above' perspective.  


Anyways, lately I've been perculating ideas to do a painting of Halifax harbour, to add to this birds eye view fetish of mine. 
 John Hartman's wonderful contemporary abstract aerial versions of cities, are marvelous and inspiring; he does big scale paintings that have such power.  
 
But what I'm interested in doing is something on a smaller scale, perhaps even a little friendly(?)...but short of getting up in a balloon above the harbour, I'm not quite sure how I'm going to get much of a resource to use other than my own imagination...which is fine...but also a scary too. For now I'm sketching out thumbnails, ideas to see if I can work up something, then get enough courage to pull out a canvas and begin!  stay tuned.

8 comments:

  1. Hi Sally,

    I know you've got all the courage you need. Time to make friends with the helicopter people at the military college, or the weather or traffic people.

    Love your work!

    XOXO Barbara

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  2. Hi Sally,
    Love John Hartman's paintings - some have a feel of Burtynsky's more abstract aerial photos don't you think? Yes, tricky to work out that view point without actually getting up there to see but I am sure you will work it out - if only we had wings!

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  3. hi Barbara! thanks for your confidance, nice to hear from you.

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  4. Hey Sarah,
    yes wings would be great...i often dream about flying with wings... yes I agree John Hartman's paintings do give one a similar feeling to Burtinsky';s abstract photos, i think it's that they both have a real 'industrial' quality to them.

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  5. Hi Sally, I've just been catching up on your blog after being out of circulation for a bit with overseas visitors staying with us.
    I love what you wrote about the bird's eye view. You have used it to such great effect with this painting. Stunning! I will look forward to seeing what others you come up with using that technique.

    Oh yes, I googled Niagara on the Lake - it looks as gorgeous as you described. I'm improving my knowledge of geography by following all these blogs!!

    Happy painting!!

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  6. hey Wendy, good to have you back in the blogosphere...i feel like you're an old chum already, and we haven't even met! ha ha. Yes if you ever come to Niagara to see the falls, you MUST drive down to Niagara on the Lake(short 15 min drive)and visit it, and do some winery tours too, theres heaps of them in the region.

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  7. Oooooh fun!!! Looking forward to see what your imagination brings. It always delights! xo

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