LOOKING FOR LU

One sketch at a time…

ISSUE 01 | Portage, Alaska

If you would like to receive PRINTED copies of LOOKING FOR LU, you can sign up here!

  • Person standing on a bridge reading a map with mountains in the background

HOW TO LOOK FOR LU…

Black and white blackboard with handwritten formations or graphs and various annotative markings, including circles and manuscript notes.

Have you ever seen a landscape and thought, “I know you”? It was a hot summer day in Cape Cod and I was on the floor of my Grandmother's old studio surrounded by her field sketches from her travels. I was flipping through one of her brown spiral-bound sketchbooks when a chilly arctic sketch made me freeze mid-page. “I know this spot, that's Portage!” I exclaimed to the empty studio. And right there and then I got a wild idea that led me to one of the strangest treasure hunts of my life.

“Spend most of your time looking.”

This is something Lu always emphasized when sketching — stressing the importance of observation and curiosity. It also turns out to be great advice when it comes to trying to find exactly where she was sitting, if you are trying to replicate her drawing!

Black and white schematic diagram with technical annotations

If you are trying to find where someone sketched then you need everything to line up just right. A step to the left or right and the trees and mountain (perhaps not icebergs) won’t all line up. It's kind of a tricky puzzle to put together, but it does mean that when it all lines up we know we are standing exactly where she was to make her sketch.

Be curious!

Then, do some research! Portage Glacier sits at the southern end of Portage Lake, a 5 by 1½-kilometer body of water located where the Kenai Peninsula connects to the mainland. This is a lake that barely existed 100 years ago!

An abstract, black and white drawing featuring a seated figure with a hat and several large, wing-like shapes surrounding them, on a plain background.

When you are curious you spot curious creatures like the a collar pika (Ochotona collaris) seen gathering some fresh spring greens! They are the only native pika found in Alaska and are a treat to see, and hear “squeeeeeeeeeek!”

Finding a missing glacier…

A close-up image of a person wearing sunglasses and a hoodie, facing the camera.

Forty years later, it is not longer possible to experience the Portage Glacier as it was in July of 1985. In the present day, you have to go on more of an adventure. But if you are up for it, you will be rewarded with a remarkable view.

Portage Creek: Trail of Blue Ice [AllTrails]

Portage Glacier Watercolor Tutorial

Together, from wherever you are in the world, we can paint Portage Glacier!

DOWNLOAD TRACEABLE LINE ART

Follow Max’s Journey!

LOOKING FOR LU PRINTED NEWSLETTER
MY GRANDMOTHER'S SKETCHBOOK FILM
TRAILBOUND SKETCHES WEEKLY DIGITAL NEWSLETTER