I am writing from Leisure World, Arizona! My husband and I are visiting his grandmother for five days. I am really afraid of flying and the only thing I enjoy about it is looking out the window. So I did a lot of that today. I realized it was very fitting that I had saved images of Nigel Peake’s latest book, Maps, on my desktop to share today. His drawings remind me so much of those airplane views of the landscapes I flew over while holding my breath. I found this description of the book from Nigel on the Analogue site– “Documenting small time adventures and excursions outwith a mile radius from where I call home. From train rides facing backwards, to crammed bus rides in tiny hill-top towns, to bike rides through the backyards of Europe. Records of the vast, unyielding concrete miles of Shanghai, to the paths between mountains and forests in late night French countryside to the old paint splattered wooden floor in London that I sleep on from time to time. In addition to this there are also some imaginings of possible places – cities built from train tunnels and underground arches to invisible concrete cities.” That description explains a lot about how Nigel can make such incredible work. Tiny lines, interesting interacting shapes and handwritten notes fill the pages. Nigel’s drawings in this book are beautiful- as always. Get a copy right here.

© Julia Rothman 2007