Several years ago I began following a handful of Instagram accounts that feature aerial views of various places around the world. It’s a perfect way to view scenery from above without the requirement of passports and boarding planes. Not only does one get a unique perspective of our planet from satellite views, but many features of large areas — whether natural or mad-made — offer unique and patterns and color palettes, as well as inspiration for artwork.
One of my first tries at creating art from these images is Viareggio, a city in northern Italy on the coast of the Ligurian Sea. It is a seaside resort famous for its Carnival and its papier-mâché floats parade along “Passeggiata mare.” The city traces its roots to the first half of the 16th century when it was the only sea port for the Republic of Lucca. It is also an active industrial and manufacturing center, has a long-renowned shipbuilding industry and its fishing and floricultural industries are still key sectors to its economy.
Having Italian roots from the maternal side of the family, I thought this was a perfect start to playing around with aerial art. I created this on a 3×3 in. mini canvas. I have a few more completed aerial artworks that I will sprinkle in with future posts. I haven’t done anything more with this series in some time, but I may have to pick it up again soon!
