John Hartman

John Hartman: Burrard Inlet, 2006

Burrard Inlet, 2006, oil on linen, 48 x 54 inches

Cities

The Cities paintings trace the advance of technology and urban development over the sites of cities. To create these paintings I spend extended periods of time sketching and photographing on the ground and flying over port areas in order to establish a sense of appearance and structure. I then translate this visual understanding into a painting, but from a birds-eye view.

This elevated perspective affords me unique compositional possibilities. Bodies of water have a beautiful quality of reflected light that contrasts with the density of urban areas. The shorelines, buildings and roadways reveal the shapes and juxtapositions of the natural and man made.