If one word can sum up this work that would be it. I began organizing my notes for this drawing back in 1986, which is when my brother, Nelson, first saw what I hoped to do one day (he was only 11). Little did I know that that day would be special. Earlier this year, after he had announced his engagement to Nicole, I asked him what special present did he want (thinking from his registry). He requested this drawing as a gift.
I have been doing pointalism drawing for twenty years, but never on this scale. The drawing measures 50 inches across by 2 1/2 feet high. It took five months of dedicated evenings to complete this. There is not a single line on the drawing. Everything is generated by dots alone, a decision and challenge I imposed on myself in order to obtain a unique feel to the final drawing. Since my original visual references were outdated, I scoured the internet, walked the city, and took photographs to visually build a city I love, and have worked on as an architect.
And thanks to Nelson I have figured out what the sequel to this will be. But it may be a year before that one is ready. Below are actual size blow-ups of some portions of the actual drawing.
Grant Park has had an open eye-sore at its north end as far back as I can remember. Then the Mayor announce the new parking structure, and the park to be built to complete it, with an open air performance stage with a wondeful trellis covering the lawn. This was particularly challenging to draw (since it is still under construction)
This is the second rendering I have done of this building. I have a long history with it. Back in college my studio master, John Heinrich, was the original designer of the building. He taught me how he developed the design of the building, and the thinking that went behind it, both visually and philosophically. I was also involved with the firms that worked on the redevelopment of the Headlands park (next to the tower) and Navy Pier. during my architecture days. This was the first building I drew on the sheet, start date June 1st, 2002.
This Chicago has the good fortune to have a building that uniquely cuts into the sky. Althought it is no longer the tallest in the world (the honor now resides with the twin towers in Kuala Lampur), it does anchor one part of our skyline. This capture shows how I had to work with the density of the buildings, layering each block in as I worked my way back to the horizon. The background street grid had to be developed carefully so that the grid would read right but not overpower the rest of the drawing.