Trotter sketches his illustrations based on real scenes.

New York, Tokyo, Ilwaco and Astoria all have something in common, and no, it’s not just their ports.

The cities are featured on illustrated playing cards.

Portland artist Aaron Trotter has spent the last 11 years traveling the world with his pens and notebooks depicting iconic landmarks within famous and not-so-famous places, all compiled in neat little collections of 52 cards.

Peninsula scenes

His newest assortment features renderings of landmarks, beaches and street scenes on the Long Beach Peninsula from Ilwaco to Oysterville. He also has created Astoria and Seaside decks.

“I started out doing postcards, note cards and calendars,” said Trotter of his first attempts at trying to make a living as an artist. “I had over 100 drawings of Portland and I thought maybe I could assemble them into a book. Or maybe something smaller that could be a gift or a souvenir. Then it came to me: ‘why not create a deck of playing cards?’”

The idea intrigued Trotter because a deck easily showcases 54 images, including two jokers, and becomes tangible, affordable and accessible art.

After a successful Kickstarter campaign to launch his idea, Trotter’s first deck, featuring Portland, became a hit at the Portland Saturday Market.

He tried another set — a collection to celebrate Astoria’s bicentennial. That, too, was welcomed, and he’d found his niche.

“By my second year of selling cards, I had enough money to fund a trip to Paris,” said Trotter. “It was a combination visiting my French grandmother, long lost cousins, touring and sketching. The following year I pursued more long lost cousins in Stockholm and Russia, and from then on I knew I could work on my bucket list and visit all the places I wanted to go.”

Trotter’s colorful decks not only highlight famous cities, but also serve as miniature maps of the Oregon and Washington beer trails, Oregon wineries and secrets of Seattle.

Grandma inspired

Trotter draws any place or subject that catches his interest.

“I’ve always wanted to be an artist,” said Trotter. “My biggest influence was my grandmother in Delaware. I was born back east and we moved west when I was small, but we went back to visit her farm there every summer. Grandmother was a potter and I was fascinated with the clay masks she’d made representing different people from all over the world. I yearned to go to those far away places and meet different people. She inspired and encouraged me to keep up with my art.”

Trotter has dedicated each deck to his grandmother.

He sketches in ballpoint pen, composing quick impressions of locations while making detailed notes of colors, place names and any historical or interesting fact on the reverse side for indexing. The process generally takes about an hour.

Back in his studio, he embellishes the original sketches with ink, cross-hatching and watercolor pencils. From there, he scans the sketches into a computer drawing tablet and can work with a stylus to digitally correct anything he needs for final edits before sending the set to his graphic designer.

Happy to travel

Trotter is happy to be traveling again, recounting that the pandemic was “really hard.”

“Traveling and drawing are what I love to do and I was rather at a loss,” he said. “I tried selling cards online or on Instagram and websites, but it was really challenging. I didn’t connect with my invisible audience. Setting up my booth at local markets and talking to people is what inspires me. I was limited to where I could go and I didn’t have any idea what subject or location I might do next.”

He was once again in his element this spring and summer, manning a booth at artisan markets in Portland and Astoria.

Newly motivated and ready to explore more, Trotter’s newest deck featuring the Long Beach Peninsula is now available. His cards can be found in Astoria at Hotel Elliott and RiverSea Gallery, or on his website, illustratedplayingcards.com.

Hotel Elliot, 357 12th St, Astoria

Riversea Gallery, 1160 Commercial St, Astoria

illustratedplayingcards.com