For the last few months I’ve been experimenting with making watercolor maps of my runs, walks, and bike rides. I keep track of these activities using a GPS, upload the data to Strava (a sort of social network for athletes), and then use the Strava-generated map as the reference for these drawings.
When I started making these, I was including a lot of the data, but after a while I realized that the map part was the most interesting. So I’ve focused on making these smaller – more minimal – drawings since then.
Below you can see the drawings in their current incarnation (the six drawings on the top left) and in their previous forms. The current drawings are 5×7 inches and are watercolor, graphite, colored pencil, ink, and acrylic.
I’ve always had a thing for maps – trail maps in particular. They are full of possibilities and tiny meticulously drawn details. The hand-drawn maps of imaginary worlds in Tolkien’s TheHobbit were some of my favorites when I was a kid.
To this day, I still prefer to carry with me a printed map when I go backpacking or when I’m exploring a new route that has many connecting trails and chances for getting lost. In more tricky spots, I frequently have the chance to share a map with other hikers who are unsure of where they are or where to go, and to help them find their way. Even folks using mapping apps will often take a picture of my paper map to guide them.
For a few years I’ve been making drawings and paintings of crumpled paper and plastic bags, and while I could tell something interesting was going on, I couldn’t figure out what direction to take them. Recently while following a thread of ideas, I started making imaginary topographical drawings/trail maps using plastic bags as a reference for the land. Now I’m making a series of them for a solo exhibit in the spring.
Here’s a look at my sketchbook showing the progression of drawings I made to figure out how to make it work (that link goes to Instagram by the way) along with images of other drawings I made along the way.
Also if you’re in or near Winston-Salem, you can see some of my work, including my painting Of Stones and Earth and Air at The Gallery at Stimmel. The work there is available through Artfolios.
The drawing of paper that started it all almost 10 years ago.a drawing of plastic bagsCold Water, oil on canvas, 30×40 inches The big thing in the foreground is actually crumpled up paper.
