+JAY HART BIO

This terrain art depicts the diversity, scale, and character of selected regions of the earth. It reassures us that our planet is knowable at an intimate level, and shows special areas with particularly interesting patterns. Derived primarily from elevation surfaces and secondarily from satellite imagery, the prints are expansive enough to show shapes and trends that are rarely appreciated, yet detailed enough to allow perusing the curiosities and wonders of even small portions. Many of the more arcane pieces were chosen for their inherent textures, storylines, color compositions, and unusual shapes. Pixel sizes range from 14 to 95 meters, and the edge-to-edge distances vary from 100 to 1500 km.

Choices of color have been aggressive to emphasize the changes in elevation, while remaining faithful to the spirit of each place. Where satellite imagery is included, the rendering is always towards a haze-free natural color. Often imagery is combined with shaded elevation to accentuate an area's topography.

Source data have come from NASA, the Global Land Cover Facility at the University of Maryland, and the CGIAR's CSI archives. Some material also came from the Geo Community's GIS Data Depot, the USGS Seamless Server, and Jonathan de Ferranti. All renderings are map true and in UTM projection.

Prints are made with an Epson 9800 wide format inkjet with archival inks (~100 yrs) on heavy matte paper. Framing uses gatorboard backing with simple frames. Options include plexiglass, no framing, hinge mounting, and in the future, a wide variety of alternative media.

This dragon shaped valley on the northern fringe of China's Sichuan Basin does not carry a river. It is too young, and runs parallel to the regional slope, so that rivers cross it perpendicularly in channels long developed and upgraded as the rift of the dragon opened in relatively recent geologic time. It is likely that this is a part of the tearing and shifting which has accompanied India's collision with Asia.