birdieopolis

in the detailsin my travels i love the details that make a place alive with character. in lausanne it was the colorful banners that i just had to sketch to remind myself of the designs and colors. i abbreviated the colors used on each one so i could try to replicate them at home some day. i wonder if there is a book documenting the amazing array of flags that pervade swiss streetscapes.
throughout italy i would measure travertine steps and benches and the delirious designs of marble paving. there time had the means to produce perfection of scale in design elements and i wanted to know their exact proportions. notes on color, pattern, and scale were sketched as a reminder of their qualities. paving patterns so easily translate into quilting patterns, so i guess my passion for paving patterns is symbiotic to my love of quilting. here i added a bit of digital watercolor to a sketch of paving found in san giorgio maggiore in venezia to highlight the three dimentional characteristics of this particular pattern.