Maps

Jekyll Island Map

| Gina Lento

I wanted to do this map sooner but other projects got in the way. I am taking Mike Lowery’s “Getting Paid to Draw Course” and I am doing it as a repeat because he has a whole new group of artists and special guests for 2023. I started the class early because we are going to be busy over the next couple of weeks so I wanted to ensure I had my projects done for this class and what I had going on in the studio. I have lifetime access to last year’s class so I am able to rewatch the lessons before Mike releases them in this year’s class. This way I can timely submit my class work.

This map was on my “to Do” list so I finished it as I was listening to the second week’s lessons. The nice thing about repeating this course is I get updated information in the design and illustration world while working in a class environment which helps inspire me to create more work.

This is not an art class. It is a class for artists wanting to learn how to get their work out there to art directors of companies needing illustrations and designs. It’s fun because you get to talk to other artists and Mike has mini workshops and drawing sessions throughout the year after the course is over. The course itself runs 8 weeks but it’s great when Mike does additional Zoom parties that are really helpful with keeping us on track with our goals.

Mike is a great instructor with a lot of information and he’s very supportive with his students. The registration for the class is over but if you are interested, I am sure he’ll run it again next year.

This map is from our trip to Jekyll Island and I wanted to do it to keep honing my map making skills.

Illustrated map of Jekyll Island, GA using paint pens, pencil and ink. Colors used are a light orange, a blue violet background and black ink.
Illustrated map of Jekyll Island

Jensen Beach Map

| Gina Lento

I was playing around in my sketchbook trying to work on some illustration “to do” lists and one of the items on my list is to do more maps. I usually go very project detailed and would post them on They Draw and Travel but sometimes just freeing up my creativity to play in my sketchbook and allow myself to make mistakes takes the pressure off to explore, play and create art for the fun of it.

A playful hand drawn map of Jensen Beach, FL with blue, light orange and teal green color. Done in a square Plumchester Sketchbook. Image has not been digitally retouched to remove imperfections.
Map of Jensen Beach, Florida

I started the map the beginning of the week and made all these really cool icons. However, I decided to do the map while in the car when John and I were out and about. We were listening to the Yellowstone Podcast. I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing until I realized that the paint marker I used was awful for this project. I didn’t like how the first map looked and the acrylic was shiny, not matte and you couldn’t write or draw over the acrylic. Well that was big a fail.

When I came back to the house, I had to go back to the drawing board, pun intended, and redo how I thought my map should look, minus the shiny marker. (The shiny marker came from an Artsnacks box.) I have Posca paint pens and Molotows which are much better for what I wanted to do. I drew the whole map again in pencil, playing with my placement of few things and I like this one much better.

I have included the image along with a version that shows what supplies I used. My Lamy Safaris are filled with Carbon Ink so they were perfect for this project. One Lamy is an extra fine point and the other is a medium point and I am really happy with how the map came out. There’s a few things that I would correct digitally but overall I really enjoyed doing this map.

Sketchbook spread of the art supplies used to create the hand drawn map of Jensen Beach. Posca pens, Lamy safaris and Molotow pens were used,
The full page sketchbook spread with supplies

AEDM Days 19 – 22 Thanksgiving 2.0

| Gina Lento

The past few days were a little abnormal for me and I was too exhausted to post daily, but I have been working on this map the past few evenings when I got home. It took me several days to assemble all the sketches of family members.

I wanted to do a map submission for “They Draw and Travel” for the Thanksgiving holiday. My original idea morphed into the current situation we have wih the Pandemic. Many families around the country are celebrating Thanksgiving a whole new way. In some areas, La Niña has made it unseasonably warm and may be one of the bright spots of 2020. La Niña actually helps those living in the northern tier of the US to set up tents outside and to do Thanksgiving en plein air, sort of like the First Thanksgiving. Southern US may be business as usual because the temps usually enable dinner outside….unless it rains.

Those with families in other parts of the county have opted not to travel and will do Thanksgiving via Zoom or Facetime or some other sort of video conferencing.

However you celebrate this year, 2020 is definitely not normal.

This map reflects my family and how we are spread out across the Eastern Seaboard. The ones closer to each other may celebrate together. I know some family members are doing the tent thing. Florida weather has broken to the cooler temps which enables us to open windows.

Your family “map” may be similar to mine. Or yours may be bi-coastal or central, southwest or more West Coast. Wherever you are, 2020 is definitely going to be Thanksgiving 2.0.

Happy Thanksgiving to my family!

Mapping this moment

| Gina Lento

I haven’t done a map in a while. I decided to post one for the call for artists for the ‘They Draw and Travel’ Blog. They requested that artists submit a map that records this moment in time. Art in the time of COVID-19.

I decided to map our morning walk. We are fortunate to live in Florida in a less densely populated area. Lock down meant not being able to go the beach but we could take neighborhood walks.

Our morning started out in our circle which looped a little over a mile. We lapped it three times before we started to get bored so we started to leave the circle and we love our walks and all the creatures we see. We’re always exited when we see something new. Currently, plumerias are blooming and there are these umbrella shaped trees with the most gorgeous flowers.

We see many of the same people, some are recorded on the map.

And if you look carefully, there is an aquatic ‘map monster’ in the neighborhood who has grown since last year.

A word of caution for non Floridians; ALWAYS assume a body of water has a gator.

Chincoteague Map

| Gina Lento

Here’s a map I did for my portfolio…..Chincoteague is one of my favorite places to go. It has a small town charm and the added bonus of wild ponies. It was featured many years ago, in the story “Misty of Chincoteague” by Marguerite Henry. She wrote several books featuring Misty and this charming island. Misty is a big part of the island’s mystique.

I grew up reading the stories and back before the internet, the only way you could see these sort of places were to go there or view them through the eyes of a photographer or illustrator. I viewed Chincoteague through the illustrations of Wesley Dennis. The first time I saw Chincoteague and Assateague in person (the undeveloped barrier island to Chincoteague), I felt like I’ve always known the place.

Chincoteague will always have a spot in my heart and although I have only visited and painted there, I feel that it is a part of me and who I am.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

| Gina Lento

In between making sketchbooks, making Valentine’s Day cards and a multitude of other projects, here is my map for Valentine’s Day, which is also up on They Draw and Travel’s website.

My favorite candy is Lore’s Chocolates in Philadelphia. But I love See’s and I like Kilwin’s ice cream (their candy isn’t bad either.) See’s candy has a special fondness in my heart because my grandmother used to buy us a box every year for Christmas. John and I found a See’s when we were in Seattle last year. We bought a pound and it never made it home. Castronovo is a new favorite, they make the chocolate right from the bean. OMG it is amazing.

However you like to celebrate Valentine’s Day, I hope yours is sweet!

Enjoy and Happy Valentine’s Day.

Here is the link to my map on their website.

http://www.theydrawandtravel.com/illustrations/10985-candy-sweet-shops-throughout-the-us

Santa Clown and something totally awesome

| Gina Lento

I found out last week that my Horses of Asia map was selected for They Draw and Travel’s Maps of Asia book! I am so excited! You can get a copy of the book from Amazon!

This morning’s sketch inspiration:

There are multiple submissions on Sktchy of clowns, especially since clowns are thought of as being sinister, thanks to Stephen King. I sketched this clown and turned him into something benign, a clown Santa.

Horses and yesterday’s Inktober Sketch

| Gina Lento

I spent over a week researching and working on this map that I did as a very belated Sketchbook Skool Assignment.  I was away when the class was “in session” and I mulled over ideas and nothing really inspired me until I saw they were requesting maps for Asia.  Then I had to mull that one over and almost passed that assignment over when I thought of horses.   So I did some research on horse breeds that originated in Asia and came up with this map.


I do have a scanned version so if you are interested in a print, please contact me.

Also, I did this yesterday as my husband was driving us to South Jersey to help my son.  This was my Inktober Day 1 sketch.  I posted it in Sktchy and on my sketch club’s Facebook page yesterday but never got a chance to post it on Social Media…