We don’t all have a good sense of geography when it comes to places and travel. So why not make a creative attempt to change that with some illustrated map art prints?
Aside from boosting your orienteering skills, map art, or, cartography is a skilled and often beautiful art that goes back as far as the Ancient Greeks. With the rise of Google maps, there’s not so much room for physical drawings of places in our lives anymore. But being reminded of the place you live or taking the time to notice something about a city you love, are just some of the pleasures of inviting map art into your home – a great conversation starter for guests too! Illustrated and topographical prints that celebrate the art of the map also just look damn good, never mind that they serve a purpose too.
Something else we don’t want to forget? Travel agents. Travel agents are one of those places we don’t visit so much anymore. But remember the vintage travel posters on the walls? How you used to daydream about all the holidays you would go on. Some travel art posters are simply design perfection, and they can serve as a great reminder of your favourite places too, or even those destinations still on your wish list. You can pop these art prints and posters on your wall to broaden your horizons – those vibrant cityscapes and deserted landscapes might not be so far away as you think- or give them as a gift to somebody that holds a special city close to their hearts but doesn’t get to visit as often as they’d like.
So here you have it, a selection of arthaus’s most vibrant travel art and map prints to inspire you with a sense of wanderlust.
Contemporary Map Art Prints by Jazzberry Blue
The Toronto artist, Jazzberry Blue warps a sixties colour palette into modern, minimalist art that still has that swirl of nostalgic fun, for art prints that soothe and enliven the mind, body, and soul.
Get your bearings with some city map prints including infamous places like London, with a squiggly map design that feels a bit like a bumper sticker from a cruising Volkswagen. Additionally, you can choose illustrations of the big apple, NYC, and even choose your favourite neighbourhood. Whatever your take on New York, there’s an illustration for you. More of a Brooklyn fan than Manhatten? You’re covered. Think New York is basically a capitalist parade, check out Blue’s Times Square scene.
If the city just isn’t your thing though, and you’re more into the nomad life, there’s some travel art for you too. We love Blue’s images of a campervan from day through night. Stark, natural and with no need to move or do anything – that’s the life.
No worries if you do love the stylish and culinary delights of cities though, who can resist those cobblestone Parisian streets and the aroma of freshly baked baguettes? Or, set your sights a bit further afield by opting for a beautiful map of Africa, illustrated with perfect typography and bold colours.
Dreamy Watercolour City Art Prints By David Fleck
Do you ever dream of escaping the hustle and bustle of the city? I’m sure plenty of other city folk do too. Which is why we love David Fleck’s tranquil travel art prints, as if the imagination of the city’s inhabitants has taken flight above their heads. The carefully drawn architecture typical of New York and Paris are offset by the exquisitely detailed hot air balloons on their voyage into the distance in these playful illustrations. The joyful ink and watercolour prints masterfully combine blue, black and grey with soft but vibrant colours to add happiness to your home.
The Faces Of The Cities, Places Art By Ale Giorgini
Ale Giorgini is an Italian illustrator who’s been drawing since he was a child. He showcases an amazing ability to encapsulate the life of a city, or the plot of a film, in angular, vertical lines a bit like a comic book.
Since we always say, it isn’t the place, it’s the people, Ale Giorgini’s city prints of London, Berlin, New York and Paris focus on the faces of the city. But not forgetting the baguettes, the red buses, and the yellow cabs, too. An assemblage of iconic city sights, like The Statue of Liberty, are held on top of a pyramid of people that truly make these beloved places iconic.
Eclectic Travel Art Prints and World Map Wall Art By Bianca Green
Enjoy the art of travel infused with a touch of floral tapestry in these enhanced city photographs by Bianca Green. Adventurous photographs of San Francisco Bridge or New York City are touched by the magic of what feels like a scene from Walt Disney’s Fantasia. There’s water transformed into a floral quilt, psychedelic skylines streaming out rays of flowers and cosmic stardust raining over grey cityscapes. We especially love the world map wall art, which weaves together designs from across the globe. Or alternatively, choose the world map print which features photographs of different filtered flower photographs for each country too.
Tangerine American Landscape Art By Jazzberry Blue
Another strong collection from Jazzberry Blue, this time, she turns her hand to minimalist art prints depicting U.S. National Parks. In burning sunset hues, this travel art has a nostalgic feel to it, with its creamy backdrop and tangerine gradients, as well as a modern poster look.We especially like how she finds the common thread of the twilight hour across all these majestic places and think it’s a great revival of vintage travel art poster style.
Since America’s National Parks attract more and more visitors every year, the chances are you’ve already been to one of them, or you have it on your bucket list. So choose from these beautiful sunset images to broaden your own horizons.
Whimsical Layered Travel Art Illustrations By Koivo
Koivo is a self-confessed wandering illustrator studying Art History at Vienna University. He specialises in strongly geometric and abstract art prints that carefully layer and connect one visual element to another. Therefore, his city illustrations are almost like an archaeological excavation of the place, with trains, lighthouses, planes, buildings and landmarks piled up on top of each other to paint a picture.
Koivo’s minimal colour schemes also pay special attention to the vibe of each exciting city. Notably, Berlin is a very yellow place, with trams, trains and postmen all taking on this bright sunshine shade. Though Berlin has its monochrome backdrop, with all those party nights too. The Scandinavian Cities, in contrast, feel very clean and fresh with their bikes and wind-power.
Koivo’s travel art illustrations make a great present for any aspiring city goers out there or even as a tribute to an apartment’s hometown if you happen to be looking to decorate your Parisian place, and want a reminder of all the amazing sights on your doorstep.
World Map Wall Art Prints By Jazzbery Blue
Can you spot the city from its river and the angle of its jagged street corners? Toronto artist, Jazzberry Blue encourages you to give it a try with her abstract map art prints. In her characteristic sixties colour palettes, city corners and blocks are rendered in a way that is sure to delight anybody that lives there or otherwise, encouraging flâneurs to take a virtual wander around the city.
In fact, looking at these colourful interpretations of city maps, you really get a sense of the each place’s character from its shape alone. Strongly varying from a tight grid of squares in say, Los Angeles or Miami, to the loose and waving curves of Dublin, or the sprawling, humble space of Stockholm. It’s fascinating to see how cities have been designed and arranged themselves over the years. You could easily gaze for hours at the strongly triangular lines of each Parisian arrondissement, the snaking curves of Jerusalem or the densely packed intricacies of Bangkok. Finally, for those of you looking for some UK art prints, there’s a vibrant map of London which will help to enliven the drab Eastenders image you have in your head currently.
There’s something truly artistic about the dying craft of map art, the precision, the colour, the time taken to put the place on the page. We love that Jazzberry Blue is keeping this timeless form of travel art alive.
Miami Map Art Print by Jazzberry Blue
Africa Art Prints By Jazzberry Blue
Finally, one more excellent collection from the prolific artist, Jazzberry Blue. If we think about the people when we think of cities, then it’s the African plains and wild animals we think of when we imagine the vast expanse of this continent’s parks. In Jazzberry Blue’s infamous style, her travel art posters are designed with the expertise of book covers. So they feel a bit like those classic editions you choose for the pretty covers or a vintage travel poster, but with a modern twist in her illustration too, with animated animals and slick minimalism.
Additionally, each African travel art print features the motto from its country’s coat of arms. Like Ethiopia reads “March Forward, Dear Mother Ethiopia” and features a lion with his paw befittingly raised. Also, the warm, sixties colour palette is neutral enough to make these versatile posters great for any space.
