From pencil sketches to pen drawings...paint and digital colourings...a map to represent the city I belong to...

Believe me, no-one is more surprised than me that I picked up an online class and actually finished it. Usually I fast forward to the things I want to know, rarely complete the class projects...you could probably call it snack learning. Anne Ditmeyer's (aka Pret-a-Voyager) "Map Making: Learning to Communicate Places Beautifully" via Skillshare is my first real follow through. Hopefully it becomes a pattern for me because I really enjoyed it...and the feeling of finishing something out of my comfort zone :) Turns out I really love drawing buildings!

So I decided to pick four of the older buildings in the city...The Town Hall (1859), the Conservatory (1897), Sacred Heart Cathedral (1897) and The Capital Theatre (1873). The drawings are meant to be a little quirky, not to scale...but including my best attempt including their architectural features.

You kind of take it for granted how ornate they are when walking past them, but when it comes in to zooming in on photos from Google Images and trying to sketch them with pencil and pen....well you see all kinds of details you never noticed. I've got a new appreciation for them now!

The front steps of Sacred Heart Cathedral

I picked colours that kind've reminded me of vintage maps...pinks, greens, oranges. Couldn't help but include some mint and the famous spring tulips!

I had a lot of fun piecing this all together, and have pretty much decided that if it prints the way I intended it to, it will be available at the Bendigo Makers' Crib at the Schaller Studio in December :) Thanks for the class Anne!

If you're interested in future prints/cards/tags that include the designs shown on this map, sign up to my newsletter below and I'll let you know when they're available..

Oh - and as for the little bunch of yellow balloons atop the town hall...these represent the current "Believe in Bendigo" campaign...a sweet little detail that shows despite the strongly held and protested views of some, Bendigo is a city that celebrates and welcomes all :)

Click through to visit my store, a collection of whimsical prints with handmade details...

Believing in Bendigo

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