Fantastic Cities/Ciudades fantásticas por Steve McDonald

Steve McDonald doesn't just draw the cities of the world. A lifelong traveler since his family moved to the Middle East in 1979, he actually visits them, soaking up the local color, the architecture, and, most of all - the lines. Although he did spend the better part of two decades traveling from coast to coast of his native Canada (via car, bus, helicopter, canoe, ship and on foot), capturing the colors of its majestic outdoors in oil, water color, and acrylic paintings, it really has always been about the lines.

You can see his love of line leaping off the page of his bird's-eye view drawings of cities, villages, and rural scenes from countries he's actually lived in - which includes Canada, Saudi Arabia, Italy, India, and Indonesia - as well as those he's merely visited, which count in the dozens. Whereas most of us might look down at a city and see only urban sprawl, Steve sees those lines -- ALL of them -- and then harnesses their rigid beauty toward his own ends -- the creation of impossibly detailed, mind-bendingly complicated tableaux. The results, mind you, are anything but rigid. Look closely, and you'll see that the drawings all have a pulse - an architectural heart beats in every single one.

Steve's process includes observing, sketching onsite and taking photos for reference in the studio while he travels. A graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design, Steve's work has been showcased in many gallery exhibitions, in television documentaries, various publications, and can be found in countless private homes and corporate collections worldwide.

Steve splits his time living between Creemore, Ontario and Bali, Indonesia with his wife Jackie and their two daughters, Roxana and Asha.