Lighthouses have a romantic, slightly haunting feeling about them. I took a tour of one as a kid and I remember peering upwards into the close spaces of the inner tower and feeling a little creeped out, imagining some poor guy ascending the steps on a dark, stormy night to illuminate the lantern.
They’re fascinating historical icons nonetheless, and great subject matter for a technical illustrator. I wanted to depict one with its most interesting feature–the spiral staircase–exposed. I based this image on the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse in Florida, which I chose because of its relatively large size and the abundance of reference material available for it, including an original architectural drawing. The side perspective was chosen to provide a clear view of the staircase, and architectural details were kept to a minimum to focus attention on the interior. Let me know what you think!
