Lisa Middleton, the Main Street Vero Beach Studios & Gallery guest artist for the month of November, is mapping out her life day by day – quite literally.
“I actually started drawing maps at the age of 14 for my mother. My mother, Pat Middleton, is a well-established author and publisher of the Discover America’s Great River Road guides, providing highlights to the history, wildlife and attractions along the Mississippi River,” Middleton explains.
“She was selling and distributing books and we introduced one of my hand-drawn maps to illustrate the area she was chronicling. We discovered people loved the historic maps and there was a real synergy between the written word and the visual of the map. From there, requests came in from private estates, resorts, lakes, public lands and attractions looking for maps with my signature vintage charm and personality.”
Born in La Crosse, Wisc., Middleton grew up on a farm in Mississippi, where she says she and her sister played in the mud and enjoyed the great outdoors. She also traveled extensively with her family, including visits as far afield as Western Europe and Nepal. She later helped out a friend in the Peace Corps in St. Vincent in the Caribbean, spent time volunteering at an orphanage in Haiti and visited Australia several times.
Of a riverboat cruise she and her mother took down the Yangtze River in Asia she recalls, “the natural beauty of that river is inspiring and the people we met along the way in the small villages were inviting and unforgettable. Travel opens your mind to other cultures and lifestyles. I knew I had to do it for the rest of my life. Map-making just seemed like a perfect fit to my wanderlust lifestyle.”
Although she began drawing maps as a teenager, she initially pursued a very different career choice. After graduating with a degree in liberal arts from Viterbo University in Wisconsin, she took a job as a hospital administrator and had every intention of obtaining a master’s degree in hospital administration, before deciding it was not the life path she wanted.
“I realized that I was missing out on so much of life, so I left the corporate job for the flexibility and satisfaction of a small cottage-industry career,” Middleton explains.
“I also knew that I needed to start my map business before Mom closed hers, so I could parlay on her contacts and expertise. I found something I loved and I’ve never looked back. I owe so much to my parents, who showed me how to follow my dreams just as they had. I guess that comes from growing up in an entrepreneurial family.”
In 2006 she founded Great River Arts/Great River Maps, painting and recreating unique, historic maps, which not only show the topography of an area but feature its character and heritage as well.
“I try to latch on to idiosyncrasies of the area and include artwork unique to that territory,” she explains.
“Many things can make a map interesting. Sometimes many places on the map have disappeared. Sometimes a map blends reality with fantasy. I like to work on maps with history, maps of places and people, because people love maps that have stories.”
Middleton says that while she draws each and every map personally, “I rely on a talented team of cartographers, architects, colorists and professional researchers to help with the process.”
While researching an area, she typically uses historical maps that are somewhere around 100 to 150 years old as a basis for her own artistic map designs to include in-depth historical data of the area.
Middleton has a precious collection of historic maps – all properly stored and cared for. She does not actually chemically restore the original maps, but rather recreates their beauty through her own creative process; making them easier to read while at the same time fashioning historically accurate works of art.
“I restore them digitally and beautify them, but never retouch or repaint the original,” she explains. “It can take me a month to make a map. I’m breaking a lot of rules. I didn’t go to school for art, and was really sad about that, but I’ve learned how to do everything my own way.”
Her process includes scanning the maps at a high resolution, enabling her to painstakingly make digital corrections to imperfections and stains.
Once printed, “I then hand-paint my own original map, enhanced with decorative borders and drawings of indigenous plants or animals. It takes about three weeks to complete the layers and layers of watercolor to create the vintage look. I always add glorious color; every stroke is intentional.”
Afterward, when once the paint is dry, she retouches any letters that need it. But, she adds, “I’m trying to celebrate the history of the maps so I don’t correct misspellings.”
Since she travels a lot, she often works from the road and transfers files electronically to the design team at her home base near Glacier National Park, Mont. Middleton calls Montana home but is a frequent visitor to Florida.
“I’ve been coming to Florida for about 10 years now and I love it. I’m even considering moving here for six months out of the year, since those cold Montana winters are getting to be a bit much for this gal,” says Middleton with a laugh.
“Florida is so much more than just beach towns. It’s a very ecologically diverse state, rich in history and varied in culture. I can see myself enjoying all the farmers markets and art shows. This area in particular has such a strong and vibrant cultural art base. It feels like home.”
Middleton already has a huge collection of Florida maps, including the Space Coast, Treasure Coast, Gold Coast, St. Johns River and Florida Keys, and is in the final stages of production for a map of Hutchinson Island.
“It’s been very exciting; there’s a very special niche for maps. The maps are coming very much back in vogue; the history maps and the regional maps. It’s very fascinating. It’s a wonderful genre of art.”
Her collection includes hand-painted original maps, prints, posters, lithographs, giclées and gift prints, as well as her newest collection of maps on wood, which she feels give the maps an even more rustic, historical look. She hopes to eventually reproduce her maps on silk scarves.
Middleton’s work will be on display at the Main Street Vero Beach Studios & Gallery on 14th Avenue in Downtown Vero Beach through Nov. 30.
For more information, visit mainstreetverobeach.org or greatrivermaps.com.
Article by Kerry Firth, correspondent