Tatler view of Downtownia-the illustrated map

The latest issue of Tatler magazine will feature a fantastical map of the imaginary county of 'Downtownia in the Shires'. The map show with tongue in cheek the area in which Downtown Abbey is filmed and about the characters that live in the area. From the Middleton family to Andrew Lloyd Weber to Highclere the family home in Downtown Abbey (which I will admit I have never watched). Take a look at the map, buy the mag, read the article and tell me what you think?? Also look out for my NEW William and Kate's new neighbours map in the following issue of Tatler.

Michael A Hill maps nominated again!

The short-list for the Travel Press Awards has been announced and the Michael A Hill illustrated book " Walk London" has been nominated in the Guide Book section. This prestigious national awards programme created to recognise excellence and achievement within the fields of travel journalism, photography and broadcasting.

Having been nominated for an award in the British Book Design Awards for '52 weekends by the sea' but not actually winning it would be great to end this great (in my eyes) year with an award.

The other nominations in that category are

- Australia - published by Lonely Planet
- Back Roads Great Britain - published by DK Eyewitness Travel
- Camping in Britain - published by The Rough Guides
- Marrakech Day by Day - published by Frommer's
- Walk London - published by Pitkin Guides further details of Walk London can be found on the website www.walklondon.co.uk

Glen Canyon illustrated map

Wow, I think as I look at the pictures of Antelope Canyon, Utah! This is a special place, a place changed so much not by man but by time and the world it's self. Luckily I had been commissioned by Backpacker magazine to produce a map of the area, but exploring the area on Google Earth and looking at photos made this commission so much more exciting and I feel that this excitement was transferred to the map. Using the colours of the area which evoke the palette of the 1950's and a simple hand-drawn style made this such a memorable maps. The client thought it was 'awesome'. What do you think?

Michael A Hill illustrator for Romeo and Jules Stationery

A while back I made the acquaintance of Jennifer Grant, at the time she was working at the BBC in London producing some fine publications for the Beeb. After a short time sorting out Harrods on-line business prior to it sale she found herself at a loose end, so this ambitious New Yorker set up a stationery company to produce bespoke stationery for clients who don't want something special but want something that is beyond special.

The company named after her 2 cats (Romeo and Jules) has recently gone online to show case her work. These lovely designs enhanced by the letter press process are not just lovely to look at but gorgeous to hold and feel. If you are considering having some bespoke stationery made then I can't praise Jennifer's work more highly. To see her website go to www.romeoandjulesstationery.com

There you may be able to spot some works produced by me, which are shown in the pictures above taken by Karen Thomas photography.

Hill of Crosses- Lithuania

I have just been working on a map for Visit Lithuania and came across this great location in the north of Lithuania called the Hill of Crosses which is a hill that has been covered in 100,000's of crosses of all different sizes. I did a sketch of the location for the map but search the place yourselves there are some great photos of this location.

Shad Thames Map for Solstice Collection

Recently I was approached by John Bird of the stylish London Concierge Services to produce a map for a property they looked after for Solstice Collection ( http://www.londonconciergeservices.co.uk/index.html ).Solstice Collection is the very exclusive, upmarket and premier destination Club in the world. ( http://www.solsticecollection.com/simply-the-best.php ). The map was to be simple, stylish, informative but at the same time a map that could be easily used on the local streets and folded up and slipped into your pocket. The first map of Shad Thames is below/above which the Solstice CEO loved and we are discussing producing maps for all there properties worldwide... no where shall we start..umm Paris, Florence, New York, St Barts, Napa Valley or maybe Costa Rica or Aspen umm ..............

If you have a property that needs a map why not contact us for a quote.

British Book Design Awards 2010-shortlist

I have just heard from the author of '52 weekends by the sea' that the book has been shortlisted for the best design of an illustrated lifestyle book against 4 cookery books.Here is the list below.

Lifestyle Illustrated

52 Weekends by the Sea, Virgin Books
Miss Masala, HarperCollins
Rose Elliot’s New Complete Vegetarian, HarperCollins
Tender, HarperCollins
The Geometry of Pasta, Pan Macmillan

http://www.britishbookawards.org/2010/default.aspx

Hopefully the book with 53 of my maps will win an award and i can call myself an award winning illustrator again. fingers crossed

Welcome to Yorkshire, Hello to Turner

Last week or was it the week before now! I received two enquiries from Yorkshire, One for a map of Yorkshire to show the new Turner Trail that is soon to be developed, plotting locations of Turner's painterly exploits. While the second was for Dales Life Magazine to do a walking map of Bolton Abbey and The Srtid, incidentally one of Turner's sketching locations, and hopefully a series of maps to follow. The news that week was about the 'Crossbow Cannibal' and my Bank Holiday was spend in a wet West Yorkshire with a visit to the Yorkshire Game Fair at Harewood House, you guessed it another Turner location.
I suppose the week before came close doing a map of New York, a map for the Wall Street Journal and a trip to see SITC2 instead of a visit to the Big Apple. Where in the world will I be next?

Afghanistan map for Diplomat Magazine

I have recently been commissioned to illustrate an Afghanistan map for Diplomat magazine. A country that is very dominant in our minds but still largely unknown geographically. Hopefully the image which sits along side an article about how the allied forces will withdraw will shed a little more light on the country.

Illustrated Map for Clayesmore School, Dorset

I was asked a couple of weeks ago to produce a map for Clayesmore School in Dorset. The school were looking at a new marketing tool that would encourage children to want to come to the school not just from England but from all over the world.
The school came up with a treasure tin that would include items that the children would like to keep and look at, included in the tin was the illustrated map show the location of the school its close! proximity to London and also show some of the locations students may visit while at the school. I await to see how the map looks printed and folded in the tin.

Book Illustration Samples

I have put together a pdf of recent work I have illustrated for book publishers, this includes The Green Wiccan Herbal by Silja, The Green Wiccan Book of Days by Silja, 52 Weekends by the Sea by Craig Easton & Brigid Benson, Dear Dylan by Siobhan Curham, If the buddha dated by Charlotte Kasl, A Guide to Good Housekeeping by Christina Strutt, The Garden Farm by Christina Strutt and London Walks by Gill Knappert.

You can download the pdf from the following link:-

http://www.michaelahill.com/downloads/book2010.pdf

If you want to know more about the projects or have a project you would like to discuss give me a call or email.

London Landmark illustrations

As part of a recent project on London I had to produce about 50 illustrations of London Landmarks or sights. These were produced as lovely little watercolour vignettes. These included such sights as Buckingham Palace,Big Ben and the London Eye. You can see more of them on my webiste by clicking on the places link.

Illustrated Garden Plans for Spring

I have this week uploaded some new illustrated garden plans to my website. You can view them and all the existing ones by clicking on the 'Garden' link above.