Hi friends! It’s been a while since my last blog post, hasn’t it? Well I thought I’d share a bit of fun news before I take my maternity leave! I’m due any day now and I plan to soak up all the baby love and take a break from work until the end of 2022. But anyways, onto my fun news:

There are over 84 million acres across the US that are protected under the National Parks Service. It’s only been in the last few years that my love of hiking has really started to bloom, and in that time I’ve had the pleasure of visiting two of the 62 total parks. There’s still SO much left to explore, but I felt that those two experiences alone were jam-packed with beautiful sights, sounds, and even smells (like intense fresh pine - unbeatable). A truly, full-body sensory experience!

That’s why I was so excited this past March when my agency presented me with the opportunity to work on a book about National Parks! For the book, I was tasked to illustrate 30 different park maps, including major attractions, roads, rivers, and well known plants and animals for each region. The project involved so many awesome things:

1. Did I get to draw tons of plants and animals, considering nature is my favorite subject matter? Check!

2. Did I get to learn fun facts and tips about 30 different National Parks in the process? Check!

3. Did I get to daydream about my next park adventure? Check! (By the way, Acadia in the fall is now at the top of my list!)

4. Did I get to see my work in a major publication, available all over the world? Check and check!

The project took about 6 weeks total, so it was a bit of a whirlwind to do some research, illustrate all 30 maps, receive feedback, and make any needed edits to get them ready for layout. Publishing deadlines can be very tight. But after the process was complete, I felt so pumped and empowered for having made it to the end with such a huge amount of work to show for it!

It was a fun challenge at times to push my drawing abilities, especially when it came to illustrating all the different animals. It wasn’t always easy to get the proportions looking right, and I had to look up tons of reference photos to make sure they appeared somewhat realistic. In the end, I was pretty happy with how most of the illustrations came out and I was so thankful that the client was pretty dang happy too! We wrapped up and I was told it would be published later in the year.

So fast forward to last week, I’m 38-going-on-39 weeks pregnant, and I hear a knock on the door. It was the UPS guy and he wanted me to sign for a package. I was like “umm ok, I have no idea what this is, but sure.” I open it and see these big, coffee table books that I don’t remember ordering. And then it hits me: THEY’RE HERE! OH MUH GOSH! I can finally hold in my hands a real, official, beautifully printed copy of The Parklands: Trails and Secrets from the National Parks of the United States. I flip through and I see all the maps I worked on earlier this year, and I can’t believe it. What a ride it’s been, and to finally see it on the other side! The photography throughout is so dreamy, and the other illustrator who worked on portraits (David Sparshott) did an amazing job. Anyways, I was truly so excited and just wanted to share the news with you all! If you love National Parks insider tips and super pretty coffee table books, maybe this book will be a welcome addition to your library!

The book is a collaboration between gestalten publishing and the Parks Project. It is now available for preorder until early September, after which it should hit the shelves here in the U.S! And if you’re out and about and ever see this book in the wild, please let me know or send pictures!

PREORDER FROM BOOKSHOP.ORG

PREORDER FROM AMAZON

PREORDER FROM BARNES & NOBLE

Below are a few of my favorite maps from the book. Have you visited any of these parks?