With paper and pen in hand, French illustrator Marine Le Breton creates hand drawn nautical maps that encompass intricate details, enlisting meditative lines and dots to form beautiful contrasting areas of light and dark. Le Breton states, ‘I think in “form” and “composition” in the framing and choice of the subject’, whether that be an island, river, archipelago or other natural features.
Her inspiration is gained from the French naval hydrological service and her processes and research include use of the French land map site called Geoportail. Taking this in play, she also allows variations in her illustrations saying, ‘I reframe each place according to the shape that interests me.’
Based in La Rochelle, Le Breton created one of her elaborate maps for Fedrigoni France Le Papier du Mois (Paper of the Month), July 2022. Le Papier du Mois showcases one of Fedrigoni’s range of papers through a collaboration with an artist or artists to highlight their creative work or various techniques.
The poster map of islands of La Manche, digitally printed on impression HP Indigo through French printer RPS Imprimerie, uses bold white ink which is set off on Fedrigoni paper Sirio Ultra Black 115 g/m2. Le Breton mentions, ‘I discovered the world of Fedrigoni papers with the colour charts, and I find that it makes sense to draw on beautiful papers that will last over time.’