Two Hemispheres

A double hemisphere world map in gold and parchment above a galleon under full sail, on bands of rust, ochre and deep red. Original acrylic on canvas, signed, framed and ready to hang.

Two gold-ringed circles sit at the centre, each holding one half of the world as a cartographer would once have drawn it — coastlines in fine ink, continents floating on parchment, faint concentric rings spreading behind them like ripples.

Below, a galleon under full sail. The pennant streams from the mainmast, the hull sits low in the water, and a compass rose is marked beside it with north, south, east and west. Around both, the ghost of a coastline drawn in outline across the burnt orange ground.

The whole composition is held together by flat bands of colour — deep oxblood at the corners, rust and orange through the centre, narrow stripes of cream, grey and yellow running horizontally like rules ruled on a chart. Those bands are what turn an illustration into a designed surface.

The palette is entirely warm: rust, ochre, oxblood, parchment and gold, with nothing cool anywhere in it. On a wall it reads as aged paper and old leather, and it sits naturally against wood, brass and rooms finished in warm neutrals.

The subject is the age when the map was still being drawn — two hemispheres, one ship, a compass, and a great deal of ocean nobody had yet crossed.

Suited to a study, a library, an office, a boardroom or a bar. It works particularly well where there are books, and it is an obvious choice for anyone who travels or collects maps.

Original acrylic on canvas, signed by the artist. Supplied in a gilt frame, ready to hang, with a certificate of authenticity. One of a kind — no reproductions of this work are sold.

Specifications:

• Subject: Double hemisphere world map with galleon
• Medium:  Acrylic on canvas
• Type: Original, one of a kind
• Size: 39 x 32 in
• Orientation: Landscape, approx. 1.42:1
• Framing:  Framed, ready to hang
• Signed: Yes, by the artist
• Included: Certificate of authenticity