Wildlife Map Drawings

Combining my love of vintage maps and wildlife, these drawings celebrate the deep links between the land and sea and the wildlife that we can still be lucky enough to see out there if we take the time to seek it out. 

Old maps obviously have a history. This is why I love to include them in my work. They have character, folds, creases, colour fading and other lovely features that add to the unique nature of the drawing. 

 I do not consider these faults, although I do sometimes press the maps to make them easier to draw on, I do like to preserve their original character. 

There is a real satisfaction in linking place with species for me in these drawings. 

Bird Migration provided me with the inspiration for some of my first map drawings  featuring beautiful winter thrushes arriving on the east coast of Yorkshire in autumn, a spectacle I have been very privileged to see many times. 

Taking time to enjoy the "arrivals and departures" of birds in the UK and especially on the East Yorkshire coast in both Spring and Autumn has become a key part of my year, and I really enjoy celebrating this astonishing spectacle in my art.