Paint me a place that matters to you.

Where has a map taken you?

Is there a lake you learned to fish on with your grandfather? A cabin where every summer of your childhood happened? A mountain you climbed the year you turned fifty? A river you paddled with your best friend? A ranch that raised you?

These are the places I paint on commission, the ones that mean something.

Every commissioned piece begins with a conversation. You tell me about the place. What it looks like. Why it matters. Who it's for, if it's a gift. From there, I search my archive for a vintage BC map that includes your location, and then I paint your piece by hand in watercolour, right onto the original map. When it's finished, it's not just an artwork, it's a piece of history holding onto your story.

A Bit About Me

I'm a geographer by training, and I spent over thirty years working in British Columbia's museums, twelve of them as the Executive Director of the Kelowna Museums Society. Like you, maps have always taken me to different worlds, ever since I was a kid staring at atlases and wondering where all those little rivers and roads led.

A few years ago, I started painting watercolours directly onto old BC topographic maps I'd been collecting from antique shops, estate sales, and government surplus. The response has been wonderful. Families across BC now have a piece of the place they love, painted onto the actual paper someone used to navigate that same country a hundred years ago.

This is a way of holding onto a place that I think we all understand instinctively, even if we've never put it into words.

How a Commission Works

It's genuinely a collaboration. Here's what to expect from start to finish.

First, we talk

Send me an email telling me about the place. Where it is, what you love about it, and perhaps some photographs you have. If it's a gift, tell me a bit about the person too and why the place matters to them. All of that finds its way into the piece.

Then I search for a map

This is where the magic starts, but it isn't always smooth. I go through my archive looking for a vintage BC map that includes your location. Sometimes I find exactly what I need in an afternoon. Other times, especially for smaller communities, I may not have anything on hand. When that happens, I'll come back to you with some ideas on where you might help me look. Old family papers, estate sales, government archives, sometimes even a local historical society. We track it down together. When we find the right map, it becomes the foundation of your piece - real paper, real ink, real history.

Then I paint

The painting is done entirely by hand in my Kelowna studio. Watercolour and ink, layered directly onto the vintage map. Every piece takes as long as it takes. I don't rush.

Then it comes home

If you're local, I love it when people come by the studio to pick their piece up in person. It's a chance to see where the work happens. For clients elsewhere in BC and beyond, I pack and ship carefully to you.

Please allow four to eight weeks from the day we confirm. Sometimes things move fast. Sometimes the search takes longer. But the right map is worth the wait.

Pricing

Prices are for the original watercolour, unmatted and unframed. Local framers I trust are happy to help you finish the piece.

Size	Format	Price
Small	8 x 10	$185
Medium	11 x 14 or 9 x 16 panoramic	$265
Large	12 x 16 or 11 x 22 panoramic	$345 to $545

PEOPLE WHO'VE COMMISSIONED WORK

"Wayne creates careful, thoughtful, and elegant designs from vintage and repurposed maps. He spends a great deal of time considering each commission and making sure he can create what you're imagining. In that sense, the pieces are co-creations. They hold deep, place-based meaning of a significant environment, and they encourage reflection and remembering. Our family has been blessed by his work." — Kim Ondrik

 "My husband saw Wayne's artwork at Artsolutely 2025 and said, 'If he had my favourite lake, I would totally buy it.' I reached out to Wayne, and he graciously sourced the map. I gave it to my husband for Christmas. He was surprised and thrilled." — Theresa Murison

WANT TO TALK ABOUT YOUR PLACE?

Send me an email. Tell me a bit about where and why. I'll get back to you within a few days.

Wayne@WayneWilsonArt.com

Thanks so much for stopping by. 😊