Markham Transom (Twins #2)

This portrait of Bloor and its environs reaches from Banjara (at left) to Huron (right). The top edge is north of Follis, and the south edge is Harbord. Because this window is not seen from eye level, I indicated the centre with a round bevel.

This is the transom above a door on Markham, one of two. This is the one I started with. I think of this one and the one of Yarmouth as twins. These were the first ones with the full colour code. They’re also nearly the same size, and both of them show Christie Pits.

I like the side edges on this one, where the design breaks into narrow squares, almost like an old-style border—or like a Mondrian. Because the top and bottom are not like this, the piece gains a strong verticality. It also retains its modernity, which would be pulled back by a full border. Best of both worlds!

In this art, most of the parameters of the design are fixed in advance. The centre is fixed (by the location of the house). The format is fixed (by the window frame). The content is fixed (by the real world map). What is left to play with? Only the zoom. I zoom in and out until I find the design that best balances composition and piece size. This one was a nice fit.