I created this illustration of Dick Proenneke’s cabin, which was turned into a die stamp used on the cover of The Handcrafted Life of Dick Proenneke by Monroe Robinson (published by Lost Art Press, 2021).
Process
We went through multiple rounds of sketch mockups until the whole team was happy with the composition. Because this is a book about handcraft and the life of a real person, it was important to represent details accurately, including the peaks in the background, the number of logs in the cabin walls, and the angles of the legs on the little tables in front.
At the same time, it was also important to keep the drawing relatively simple. This was my first time creating art for use in a die stamp, but I knew that fine lines likely wouldn’t come through in this medium. I looked at Lost Art Press’s other titles to get a feel for the right level of detail.
The story behind the drawing
Many people know of Dick Proenneke as “that guy who built a cabin” from Alone in the Wilderness, a program that aired on PBS for many years. The year after Dick left Alaska, my father was hired by the National Park Service to do maintenance and restoration work on the cabin.
That’s how I ended up spending the month of my 11th birthday (and many other summers after that) at Twin Lakes.
I already loved art and nature, but those summers in Alaska taught me to slow down and observe in a whole new way. Watching my dad’s carefully honed craft inspired me to dive deep into creative projects. Even though my childhood drawings of plants and animals are nothing exceptional, I see in them the same passion for representing experiences and concepts visually that drives me to create now.
All this to say, illustrating the cover of this book was a really special experience for me in more ways than one.
I got to have a conversation with my dad and Lost Art Press about all this and more last year for their blog. Read the interview (and see how much my art has improved in 20+ years) here.
