Pasture lines, contour lines & water lines.

When sketching a property map from a bird’s-eye view, the lines which form the pasture boundaries make abstract and organic angles. If we view these lines in isolation, they may seem strange and unorganised. Yet when we build the landscape around these boundary lines, we begin to make sense of them. The water lines define the valleys, which naturally command the contour lines, ridge lines, the basins, the high lakes and the flow of the country from its highest points to its lowest elevation. We see vast pasture boundaries in the higher harsher country whilst smaller pasture lines are sketched in the lower flat country, the fertile and productive farming land parallel to the natural water systems. We see fence lines that handlebar steep ridges or water systems, a natural boundary that a pasture line works with, not against. Pasture lines, water lines and contour lines. A web of lines interacting to create the unique tapestry of a place. Tracing, sketching and painting these visual aids allows us to make sense of the fence lines, and we begin to understand why. The fence lines are no longer random and unsymmetrical. They work with the land, complementing the landscape in a manner that is practical for land management and respectful of the land’s unique features. We see a set of lines that are symbiotic.