Last time I talked about how maps aren’t just about roads and rivers, they can also celebrate memories and stories. However, sometimes you do actually need to know where the toilets are! Having stumbled into maps by accident, I now have a real passion for communicating how places work.

Making a map presents many challenges, but there are compensations. Firstly, you don’t need to worry about composition as the layout is dictated by the geography. Likewise, scale and perspective tend to sort themselves out. You are given a list of features to include, which I always add to. Then once all of the research is done, I am free to experiment with colour and detail, and to add my own twist. It sounds counter-intuitive but having certain restrictions can actually be quite liberating for an artist.

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I have a terrible sense of direction, so if I can make a map that works for me, I feel confident it can do the job for others. Here are a few of my favourites…

The Alnwick Garden and Castle Visitor Maps

Ten years ago the Alnwick Castle and Garden asked me to have a go at some new visitor maps. I had only done one map before, so it was a huge challenge with a very tight deadline. With excellent communication and support from the marketing manager, the maps were made and they went down well. The Garden now sells them on 1000 piece jigsaws which are popular, and it’s given me the idea of creating some jigsaws of my own. I hope to experiment with this in 2021…

Alongside the paths, getting the perspective on the Grand Cascade was the trickiest bit. It’s such a curvy structure…

I always enjoy wintry paintings and the combination of the snow and the coloured lights, along with Santa and all the festive elements made this map one of my all time favourites to work on

The structure of the castle was a challenge but once that was in place i could have fun adding all the tiny characters…

Wooler Heritage Walking Maps

The Glendale History Society asked me to make some maps for a series of heritage walking routes around Wooler. They are a very passionate and knowledgeable group of people. I was taken on a guided tour and treated to home made scones afterwards!

I enjoyed painting all the old buildings and was even asked to include some characters from the past…

This is the second in the series, it’s the River & Railway route.

The Duchess High School Map

I was approached by the teachers at the Duchess High School in Alnwick as they were having a brand new school built. This modern building is poles apart from their previous school whose old home was historic and charming but crumbling under modern pressures. They wanted a map which would introduce the new building to the students in a way that was friendly and inviting. A large (5 foot) version was displayed in the entrance hall, and A4 copies were placed inside the school’s brochure.

I looked at some student art projects for inspiration and found that they really like bubble writing!

Close House Estate Map

A pristine Estate in the Tyne Valley, and one I’d never heard of, Close House is home to a golf academy and three professional golf courses which are augmented with footpaths, beautiful trees and sculptures. I was asked to make a map. This involved a surprisingly exhilarating tour of the estate in a golf buggy…

The Morpeth Food Festival Map

This was a lot of fun, and for once I didn’t have to go beyond my home town to do the research. The purpose of the map was to let people know what to expect and where to find everything. The intitial black and white ink drawing was printed out for children to colour in, giving the grown-ups a little bit longer to sample the delights on show at the festival.