Illustration collage cut paper mandala
paper and ink
varying dimensions

PAINTED IN THE LANGUAGE OF MAPS

the rules : draw from media, color patterns in a limited palette, cut out, collage, repeat.

FROM THE PAINTED IN THE LANGUAGE OF MAPS SERIES 2012-2013

i was suffering from a great depression. to get through, i began a series of line drawings based on television stills and magazine imagery as a way to justify hours of television watching. in essence, i was illustrating to preserve my own sanity, self-image, life. the images were simple line drawings in black & white, scenes or ideas that i found to be either compelling or off-putting. i was extra sensitive, feeling deeply and observing the outside world with curiosity and questioning. as i reproduced images & scenes, i colored the drawings in marker then cut them out. i noticed that by creating a set of limitations within the process, applying small palettes of color in a distinct family of patterns, a mapping system of the different vibes we feel when we interact with a living being or a 3dimensional space or a representation of that in the media, was emerging, feelings illustrated. as i finished batches of the cutouts, i began affixing them to the wall in a grand collage. eventually, the more i drew the larger the installation of small portraits grew, merged into patterns, formed a world of its own, overlapping and evolving in dimension and shape. after the first series, i started building a collection of original illustrations based upon varying themes. this is the evolution of that process.