Sunday, August 07, 2011

The City of Mapperly Love

Philadelphia, PA, ink and watercolor on paper, 16.667" x 6.25"

This is my entry for They Draw & Travel's recent map contest.

It was my first big map since Connor was born - one of the biggest I've done, actually - and it was good to work under deadline again. I originally hoped to do maps of multiple cities - Philly, Reno, Los Angeles - but in the end, decided to put all my energy and time into one great map, and I'm glad I did.

Of course, I did waste away half of that time and energy moaning over how many of my favorite shops and restaurants have closed since I moved to Virginia. And most of the rest of the time and energy trying to whittle down the list of things to include. It was impossible to include every building or landmark I wanted to - I've always thought of Philadelphia as a small city, but it really isn't, and even just the walkable portions of Center City and Old City (the actual map above) are chock-full of interesting things - so I aimed for a nice balance of cool-looking buildings, historical and personal landmarks, and geographic balance.

I'm very proud of it, and also proud to be part of such a great group of mapmakers. Take a look around They Draw & Travel's site to see amazing maps in every style imaginable!

I may be offering prints of this in my Etsy shop, but in the meantime, you can find large poster versions and other goodies in the Interimaginational Zazzle shop, and They Draw & Travel will also be offering prints on canvas soon.

2 comments:

Pen and Paperie said...

what a great composition!

Barbara said...

It was fun to see that I could find our old neighborhood on here :)