Map Is the Medium for Fly-Fisher Artist

Reggie Royston
National Geographic News

June 11, 2001

The summer sun hadn't set for days on the coast of Alaska, and
recreational angler Alan James Robinson was tired of the brightness that
made it difficult to rest even with a bandanna tied around his eyes.
There wasn't much to do, and exploring was risky.

"There were a lot of bears around," Robinson recalled. "It wasn't as safe to be roaming around at midnight or one o'clock fishing."

So Robinson, a classical printmaker and sculptor by training, asked the owner of the lodge he was staying in whether there was any paper lying around. The owner pointed to a nautical map, and Robinson took up his pencil and began drawing.

Several hours later, after a bit of sleep and more fishing, Robinson had sketched five species of Pacific salmon native to Alaska—king, sockeye, chum, pink, and silver.

The lodge owner promised Robinson a return trip if he could finish off the sketches in full color. But when he attempted to render them in watercolors, the chart buckled and warped.

The trip would have to wait, but Robinson was on his way to becoming "the map guy."

Attention to Details

Maps are often produced from flimsy and easily collapsible paper. So Robinson, who lives in Easthampton, Massachusetts, set out to learn what kind of coating he could use to preserve the surface of a map while making it suitable for illustrations. This interest came not only from a desire for a proper canvas for his work but also from his concern about preserving the craftsmanship of the map itself.

For centuries people have adorned their records of travel with drawings of the nature and wildlife they encountered. Many map artists today, said Robinson, use oil and acrylic paints, which obscures the fine details and features of cartography.

"All maps started out originally as artwork," he said. "That was one of the things I wrestled with—compromising the beauty and the information quality that maps have."

Robinson discovered that a treatment of ox gall, lanolin, and other ingredients enabled him to paint watercolor illustrations on maps so that the underlying details could still be seen.

In the past 10 years, Robinson has produced hundreds of map-backed paintings of fish, birds, and other wildlife. Many of them have been displayed at conservation events and mapping conventions, where he has became known to his younger fans as "the map guy."

Admirers often praise Robinson for his ability to catch the subtle characteristics of wildlife, from the sparkly texture of a false albacore to the iridescent glint of striped bass. This level of detail is painstakingly acquired.

Robinson often takes a clear plastic water tank with him on fishing trips that last several days. He captures fish in a tank of seawater so he can take extensive photographs of his specimens.

"There's nothing like being able to go right up there. I have over 30,000 photos of fish I've caught," he said. "From the tank I can look at it from the top, the front, its sides. I have quite a library—over 60 different species." When he's finished taking photographs, he returns most of the fish to their natural environment.

Aiding Conservation

Robinson's concern for nature is reflected in his work for grassroots conservation causes and outdoors groups. He has done illustrations for organizations such as Trout Unlimited, Atlantic Salmon Federation, and the Coastal Conservation Association.

For the past four years he has been working with California Trout, a group that studies and cleans up California's inland waterways and works to prevent poaching of wildlife. The group commissioned "the map guy" to create a topographic painting of 12 species of trout native to the region. The artwork will be published as a poster and calendar to raise funds for the group.

"I never have any money, but what I do have is a lot of artwork. Every year I donate tens of thousands of dollars in artwork," he said. "It's my way to give something back and make an impact and do what I love to do."

Robinson supports his work through sales of his illustrated maps, commissions for book illustrations, and the operations of a graphics company he owns.

From historic maps showing the routes of the Gold Rush to government nautical maps, the range of maps that Robinson can use as a background for his artwork is almost endless.

He is currently illustrating a map that a California adventurer annotated with topographical descriptions and markings of where he found various species of fish while hiking through the Sierras. Another project is a private commission. "[The client] in the Air Force, stationed in England, had Springer spaniels," said Robinson. "We're finding English maps for him right now, and I'm going to paint portraits of his dogs and a hunting scene so he can remember where he spent 12 years."

Robinson also hopes his work can be used to educate children and the general public about wild species and their native habitats. He recently completed a four-by-six-foot mural for the Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory in Deerfield, Massachusetts, which features 60 species found in various regions across the continental United States.

Work such as this, along with similar games and puzzles, would enable people to better appreciate the intimate connection between geography and nature, Robinson believes.

"We're trying to go more in that direction," he said, "so people can actually learn something from a piece of artwork."