Pictorial map of Kelowna brought up to date for 2018
Montreal artist drawing new version of map he made 6 years ago
AMontreal artist is creating a hand-drawn map of Kelowna that will show off the topography, landmarks and businesses of the city.
Jean-Louis Rheault first made a pictorial map of Kelowna in 2012.
The map received worldwide recognition and was published in The Art of Illustrated Maps.
He is now creating an updated version, which will be released this summer.
“When I do a map of Kelowna, I try to reflect the way we tend to interpret things,” said Rheault. “That’s why emphasis is put on the important things and vast open spaces are minimized.”
On the 2012 Kelowna map, Rheault put in details such as Ogopogo and sailboats on Okanagan Lake, landmarks such as the Father Pandosy Mission, and people riding bicycles across a trestle in Myra-Bellevue Provincial Park.
“I find that usually people who are local appreciate the maps more than people who are visitors, because they’re more aware of those details,” said Rheault. “The idea is to play around and try to recreate the sense of perception that people have.”
These kinds of maps take Rheault four to five months to illustrate, he said.
“One challenge I have is doing an encore,” he said on recreating the Kelowna map. “It has to be at least as good or better than the last one.”
The new map will be available in a foldout travel guide.
Rheault has also created pictorial maps of the Okanagan, Montreal, the Grand Canyon, Singapore, Alaska and more.
“If a good picture is worth a thousand words, a good pictorial map is worth a thousand pictures,” said Rheault.