Maps are one of my specialties. I'm aften asked why anyone would want a map done, when you can just go to Google or turn on your GPS? But maps can also be a thing of beauty, and that's what I like doing, taking it a step or three beyond just finding directions -- trying to create a map that is as much fun to look at as reading a book... well maybe. People still want them, so they still pay me to do them... My style does set them apart from maps.google.com with their silly little markers.

Here's one I did for the Hawaiian island of Molokai's Visitor's Bureau brochure. It also won an award in a national cartography (map making) contest a few years ago.

This was all done by hand using software as a painting tool, again starting with Adobe Illustrator and ending in Adobe Photoshop. A lot of people say it looks like a satellite photo, but I assure you it does not. While it is an illustration, it is also geographically accurate, in shape, scale, and location of features. This style is one I call "sense of place" where the color and texture evokes a feeling of the surroundings one would find at any particular real location on the map... if you were actually there.

Big Island of Hawaii Tourism Maps

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Kauai Map for Brochure

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Maui County Recreational Map

28" x 36" folds to 9.5" x 4"