text: An artist with a penchant for snapping urban architecture has come up with an innovative new way of making the most of his photography. French photographer and illustrator, Thomas Lamadieu, takes snaps of the sky in courtyards and built-up areas to create a frame of buildings. The space in between then acts as a canvas for his playful illustrations which he has dubbed 'sky art'. On his website Thomas says that his artistic aim is to 'show a different perception of urban architecture and the everyday environment around us, what we can construct with a boundless imagination'. Before and after: Lamadieu's original  shot (left) and after it is transformed into 'sky art' (right) Lamadieu, who is also known as Roots Art, is based in France but travels the world to photograph the space between buildings in various cities. In the past year alone he has visited Belgium, Germany, Canada, the United States and South Korea in his quest to find the perfect sky canvases for his illustrations. Since he began creating sky art in 2011,  Lamadieu has made a name for himself among critics, art lovers and journalists all around the world. Speaking to the Independent, Lamadieu said: 'The sky drawings series really started with as a way of playing with my imagination to show how these seemingly empty spaces in the urban environment could be reinterpreted in different and creative ways.' 'The bearded man in my images stands for the sky itself, the big man in the sky, but it’s not meant to be religious in any way'. Surreal: Three characters draw their own illustrations in an inverted sky shot . Upside down: A bearded figure rides a cat in between the buildings . Peace out: An illustration of a man playing an electric guitar fills the sky space in this photograph . Cheshire cat: A drawing of a couple embracing behind a grinning cat fills the gap where the sky would have originally been . Using a fish-eye lens camera to capture the perfect vertical shot, Thomas Lamadieu then illustrates the graphic shape created between buildings using Microsoft Paint. These abstract canvases depict a collection of humorous characters and surreal scenes. One inverted upshot depicts three bearded men drawing a picture of the night sky; meanwhile another shows a woman with hair not dissimilar to that of Marge Simpson reclining between two buildings. Self portrait? A man spray painting clouds on a canvas fills the skyscape in this photograph taken in a courtyard . Twit twoo: A black and white illustration of an owl looks down upon this oval shaped void . Thumbs up: An image of a man holding a Polaroid of a smiling cloud is superimposed onto a shot of town houses . A signature Lamadieu figure appears to be a bearded man in a Breton striped top who features in various guises throughout the 'sky art' images. In one picture he appears as a giant rock star wielding an electric guitar, and in another he has a camera around his neck whilst presenting a Polaroid of a cloud. As well as surrealism, optical illusion is also a key theme in Lamadieu's work - these confusing images combining photography with clever illustration are certainly hard to get your head around. Jack in the box: An illustration of a masked man holding a Jack in the box toy overlooks this snap between two brick buildings and a washing line . Optical illusion: This sky shot has been transformed into a clever optical illusion thanks to Lamadieu's illustration . One image that plays a trick on the eye is a vertical sky photograph combined with a horizontal illustration of a game of cat and mouse to mind-boggling affect. Similarly, an image of a bearded man in a striped top holding some cloud shaped balloons creates a trompe l'oeil that the facade of the building is a pavement with illustrated figures superimposed on it. Meanwhile, the sky becomes the sea in another illustrated image of a man on a boat surrounded by circling sharks. Trompe l'oeil: It's difficult to tell which way is up thanks to this clever and confusing illustration . Sea-ing double: The distorted angle of this photo combined with sea illustration make it a mind-bending photo to look at . For more information visit the artist's website .
target: French artist Thomas Lamadieu combines photography and illustration to create clever imagery .
  He takes photographs of the sky in urban locations around the world .
  The buildings in the photographs act as a frame for him to draw on abstract illustrations .