It’s that simple.
So that’s what I’m going to do here.
So this is a sketchbook tour, as well as a journey through my growth as an artist.
All I remember about this is that I drew it for some sort of contest evo held.
I love that year of Bacon top sheet.
you could see the origins of the obsession I still have with portraying actual gear in my art.
At this point I was surrounded by better artists, and figured it wasn’t for me.
So I was focused on film and photos.
I worked for a production company, even appeared in a film that was briefly on Netflix.
That camera was very cool, still wish I’d gotten to shoot skiing with it.
I met Caleb Ehly through Newschoolers, in what proved to be a major inflection point for me.
We went on a few trips together, that really pushed me to get all the way into skiing.
Now he’s out there kicking butt as an architect.
Tons of aimless doodles at this point.
In retrospect, I’m really grateful for this time.
There’s a lot to be said for loosely free drawing, building coordination and mark making skills.
This season marks a big turning point for me.
I was really driven to shoot photos, but also didn’t have great conditions to do that.
So I started drawing the photos I wanted to be taking.
I was tired of driving 3+ hours each way to ski.
More photos I wished I could have taken with Will.
So here’s Doug, in a Llama, from an epic Whistler trip.
Spring 2015 I shot a ladies' trip to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort for NS.
I was absolutely hooked on walking up mountains.
Here’s that crew walking up Glory.
I missed the shot of Sander boosting a big 360 off this cliff, so I drew it instead.
The first of many times I underestimated how friggin big this guy goes.
That spring I cold emailed every company and outlet in skiing, trying to find an internship.
So, I promptly packed my bags, bought a wireless hotspot, and drove to Hood.
I drew this at Trillium, so enchanted with the life I was living.
My early experiments with color were really, really, really bad.
Like, So bad.
Also, obviously, I was homesick.
That summer was long and hot.
I’ve drawing this guy a lot.
Eventually Bozeman’s housing market chased me out, and I made my way to Driggs.
The Tetons had loomed large for me ever since that Jackson trip.
And yes, I’ve been backcountry blading here since 2015.
I really loved my car.
More nostalgia
One of the first things I ever drew that got used by a company.
Pretty sure they traded me a jacket for this one.
Sky was massively influenced by Adam Haynes, one of those guys I really look up to.
Nerdy stuff, designing skis I wished existed.
Winter culminated with a gnarly trip that took me all over the west.
I was falling apart on the Olympic Peninsula with David Steele when I graduated college.
That’s what’s going on here,
More from that trip.
Sander Hadley from that period.
I was still making most of my money off photos and words though.
Ravens and axes were a common theme.
These were a big friggin deal to me.
I got to draw the Moment/Blister collab Bibby Pro.
This was a dream come true.
In retrospect, I don’t love the graphic.
I’d try watercolor paints every few months, get disgusted with myself, and give back up.
So, there’s the story, told from my sketchbooks of 2012-2017.
The first five years.
Summer of 2017 I quit my job at Blister and started working construction.
Not much drawing happened that summer.
Fall 2017 I was hired by a PR firm in Jackson, and even less drawing happened.
So I don’t really have anything from the intervening period.
I’m not sure if any of that’s helpful.
My path won’t be your path, but your path is out there.
If you want to draw ski stuff, or any other outdoor stuff, you should.
Keeping a notebook, practice, doodle, study folks who’s work you like.
