Though Phil Thompson and Katie Lauffenburger both grew up in Pennsylvania, they first met in Chicago, where they found a mutual love of art, architecture, and history. Now they live and work together in their home studio in the Ravenswood industrial corridor (which also happens to be around the corner from our distillery).
After reading about our neighbors in the Chicago Tribune, we decided to reach out and learn a bit more about Cape Horn Illustration and the inspiration behind their detailed hatch-marked illustrations of historical buildings, homes, and maps. We were able to catch up with Phil Thompson, who filled us in on their process, the role of nostalgia in their work, and Chicago’s ever-changing neighborhoods.
KOVAL: I read on DNAinfo that, before starting Cape Horn Illustration, you were working as an international trade consultant. Can you talk a bit about that transition? How did drawing, and specifically architectural drawing, become a career?
Phil Thompson: I was full time consultant, then full time artist, then part-time for both. At this point, even I'm confused. Drawing buildings is just the one common thread in my life, something I would do no matter what. Working in international trade was the most interesting academic track that seemed offer the most fun career opportunities.
K: Do you visit the homes you illustrate, or do you tend to work from photographs?
PT: I do both. Though I always appreciate a visit to a home or building, sometimes time pressures mean that I need to work from photos. Sometimes that's actually good--homeowners take photos of their own home that are revealing in their vantage point, details captured, etc.
K: What do you find to be the most common reason clients request work from you? How big of a factor is nostalgia?
PT: Nostalgia and all the good sentiments wrapped up in a home are maybe the key reason clients request work from me. Their homes will always live on in their memory.
KOVAL: Besides home illustrations, you’ve also drawn landmark maps, beer maps, and marathon maps. How do you determine what landmark represents a Chicago neighborhood? Do you think, as time goes by, that these landmarks can change?
PT: Definitely. All the maps I've done go out of date, some sooner than expected. That happens. The beer map went out of date as a few bars closed. Maps capture a geography but also a moment in time and the mapmakers' biases. There are always judgement calls.
KOVAL: Since you’re located right around the corner from us in Ravenswood, I’m curious to know how you think this neighborhood ties into the rest of Chicago. Architecturally, what makes it unique? What are some of your favorite characteristics about the neighborhood?
PT: Ravenswood, to me, is one of the city's greatest neighborhoods. You've got the city's industrial past represented along the corridor, a mix of single-family and multi-unit residential styles, a short jump to the gorgeous, bungalow-rich Ravenswood Manor. The green space makes it especially walkable for anyone who loves Chicago homes.
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*Images c/o Cape Horn Illustration, capehorn-illustration.com
