A Map of Hammock Point, Clinton Connecticut

An homage to the old masters

This is a map of a small point of land on the Long Island Sound in Clinton Connecticut. My uncle purchased a small cottage here many decades ago. I have fond memories of walking the eclectic sea wall here as a young boy. My family would gather here with my cousins every Thanksgiving where my father started a tradition of barbecuing the turkey on a Weber grill. It has always felt like a place of memories and history which helped inspire the map's style. 

I started this map several years ago but abandoned it because I wasn't happy with how it was coming out. Then, after my cousins sold the house this past Spring, I felt like I need to return to the map as a way to document the memories. As is probably evident, I wanted the map to look like it had been created a long time ago. The background color is actually captured from an 18th century map of Venice from the amazing David Rumsey collection. I turned it into a color pattern. After that, it was mostly a matter or removing detail from the base map I had created, choosing a muted color and then fading that back onto the paper as if the sun had been a collaborator on the project. The wave lines are an engraving technique I've always admired but never been able to adequately recreate but I kept them anyway. These old maps were sometimes hand-tinted so I added the smallest amount of color for the water and wetlands. Lastly, I grabbed a dust and grime stuck image and added a bit of grime to the final product.

This small stretch of New England coast is itself in a fading state. It has largely withstood the test of time because the plots of land are small... sized for cottages not mansions. But new owners want modern conveniences like master baths and chef's kitchens and are likely to remake the landscape. Here is a photo I took of the cottages last year.