Drawn: The Art of Ascent

At 32, artist and climber Collins found himself “somewhere between college and mortgage” and recognized within a profound need for transformation. Inspired in part by his friend Jonny Copp, who died tragically in an avalanche, Jeremy resolved to travel in the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west – to challenge himself on first ascents, and to explore a balance between the pursuit of wilderness adventure and the necessity of home.

Drawn is a rich, textured, and soulful visual exploration of summits lost and achieved. Although climbing is Jeremy’s catalyst, the more fully realized approach to life he discovers will resonate with anyone who has looked out an office window and asked ‘What else is there?’.

Collins chronicles ambitious first ascents in the United States, China, Venezuela, and Canada with climbing partners including Tommy Caldwell, Mark Jenkins, Jeff Achey, James Q Martin, Pat Goodman, Jose Miranda, Mikey Schaefer, Dana Drummond, Corey Rich, and Hayden Kennedy. At the same time, this contemplative dad shares his dreams and desires, and always finds a route back to his family. Collins’s art is a rich and textured mixed media of pencil, charcoal, watercolor, torn paper, and photographs. Drawn features pages from the sketchbooks he kept on these climbs with hand-written text. His work has frequently appeared in Alpinist and Rock & Ice magazines. An accompanying film was successful on Kickstarter and has garnered numerous awards.

Winner of the 2001 Banff Mountain Book Festival Best Book Adventure Travel Award.