Monumentally Detailed Pen Drawings That Combine Real and Imagined Landscapes by Olivia Kemp

British artist Olivia Kemp creates large-scale drawings that combine observational studies made in Norway, Italy, and Scotland with fantastical places that exist only in her imagination. Her pen and ink works contain dense villages of twisting tree houses within forests and log cabins sprinkled through out private islands, each appearing isolated from modern civilization.

“I draw in order to make sense of landscape but also to construct and remodel it,” explains Kemp in her artist statement. “I build worlds and imaginary places that grow out of a need to interpret the sites that I have known, expanding and developing them across a page. This encompasses everything, from the visions of a grand landscape right down to the details of the land, the plants and creatures that may inhabit it.”

When creating her meticulous works Kemp notes that she often falls into a trance-like state, the final result surprising even herself. New works, including the 6-foot-long Archipelago, are currently on view in her solo exhibition at Browse&Darby in London through November 3, 2017. You can see more of the artist’s work on her website and Instagram. (via Hi Fructose)