Background

My journey in map art started the same way many of my obsessions do: a Wikipedia article. In 2023 during a family vacation on Edisto Island I discovered this map on Wikipedia. It is a coastal survey print from 1853 that someone, probably recently, watercolored over to add the detail you see now. That's no small feat! I visited a map and prints store in Charleston that week and the paper used for these surveys is very thin. The shop was beautiful and the owner clearly really knowledgible. She cringed when I asked follow-up questions about how the artist could have successfully painted on the old survey paper.

I was so enamored with this particular map's aesthetic that I decided to try to replicate it with my own maps. All my work follows from that. I free hand sketch the map, typically in pencil, block out areas, watercolor in, then add borders, scales, compasses and lettering.

Enjoy!