Private collection

I love old maps and stumbled upon this 1900 map of Paris in a used bookstore outside of Chicago. It was originally published by Bon Marché, one of the oldest and largest department stores in Paris, for the 1900 exposition of Paris. To create this painting, I printed a mirror image of the map on gum paper that is similar to the back of a postage stamp. The gum paper image was transferred to wood using matte medium. I added an oil color wash over the entire surface and then individually painted all of the street grids and park plans. Lastly, I painted over selected portions of the text that I chose to highlight.