As a cover artist, you might say Dave Dubé is a natural. Not just because he produces high quality miniature artwork on specially cancelled envelopes. Dave is also a natural in the sense that he was doing cover art long before he became aware that the cover art hobby even existed.

Growing up in Shelby, Montana, Dave recalls his first contact with illustrated letters and covers. "I remember visiting the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls when I was 11 or 12. The museum has many paintings by Russell and other western artists. But I especially liked Russell's illustrated letters and envelopes that were on display."

Dave first experimented with artwork on envelopes 29 years ago while he was serving in Viet Nam. He wrote often to his girlfriend (and future wife) Terri in the States, and would decorate the envelopes with colorful and intricate address designs. "You might call it alphabet art," says Dave. "Some of the designs were psychedelic in format. This was the period, the late 60's, when that style was popular."

"It was a way to stay in contact with reality" Dave recalls. "The last three months I was over there, I was fortunate to be stationed at a battalion aid station. I worked nights, and most of the time, I didn't have much to do except to be on call. I averaged about one envelope a night. It was a good way to occupy the time and stay awake."

Cover art was an expressive release for Dave, an easily portable outlet for his artistic energy...a few pens and an envelope fit readily in a pack along with a medic's gear. And it was a way of making the letter special. When Terri got the letter, she would know it was from Dave and that he was thinking of her--before she even opened the envelope and read the letter. "Sometimes he couldn't write," notes Terri. "He sent an empty envelope. He couldn't write due to lack of time--sometimes due to a loss of words."

Terri saved all of the covers and still has them tucked away. "When I received an envelope, it told me two things, " she relates. "First, that he was still alive a week ago, and second, that he was sane. It's not possible to be creative and out of contact with reality."

One of the HD/HP cover hobby's newer artists, Dave appears to have found his niche. In just over two years, he has gained national prominence as a cover artist--one of the best at what he does. He produces 27 covers for his subscription service, featuring about 6 different covers designs per year. He has a waiting list of collectors that would like to subscribe.

He began his most recent involvement with covers after the Montana Statehood issue was released in Helena in 1989. Covers that he had created for himself sold like hotcakes at the First Day ceremony. "I knew I was on to something," he relates. "I began exhibiting event covers and first day covers at a local art gallery. Matted and framed, people were buying my covers to hang on their walls. I haven't looked back. The demand has far outstripped the supply from day one."

Indeed, the collecting of hand drawn/hand painted (HD/HP) covers appears to be one of the nation's fastest growing hobbies. What is behind the hobby's popularity? Some of the popularity is due to the joy of owning original art. The longtime popularity of stamp and cover collecting is complimented by this original artwork in the cover art hobby.

Dave feels there are two distinct branches of cover art. "I feel the art covers can be divided into two categories he explains. One is what I call the contemporary fine art covers, and the other group might be called illustrative art covers."

"My definition of contemporary fine art cover is one that takes the artist longer than a couple of hours to complete. Most of these artists do less than six issues a year, and less than thirty covers per issue. The covers are often done in a more permanent medium such as acrylics, oils, or opaque watercolors, as opposed to transparent watercolors and inks. The bulk of HD/HP covers, on the other hand, are more illustrative in nature. They are more quickly done and usually produced in greater quantities. The contemporary fine art covers are naturally more expensive. They are generally high quality, fewer of them are made, and the law of supply and demand tends to make a strong market for them. On the other hand, there is some nice artwork to be found in the arena of illustrative art covers. And the price and quantity makes them easier to obtain."

Using a combination of colored pencils, watercolor pencils, opaque watercolors, inks and graphite pencils to produce his covers, Dave is truly a "mixed medium" artist. His covers are appealing not just for the quality of the artwork, but also for the image concept. Coming up with the idea for that great image is the first step for any cover artist. Dave uses many sources for inspiration, including the local library and bookstores as well the libraries, postcards and photographs of local friends and collectors. "Sometimes the idea comes quickly and sometimes it takes days or weeks," says Dave.

The design for one of Dave's most recent and popular covers, featuring the 1992 Love stamp, came together in a flash. "The theme was 'First Love' and the image was a soda fountain booth. A Coca-Cola glass with two straws and a small juke box on the wall. One quick sketch and I was just about ready to go."

After "hitting on the image", Dave works on what he calls a "cover proof". He tailors the image and the colors to the point that he is satisfied with the image, and is then ready to begin his individual covers. He makes an ink pattern or template from the proof to reproduce the design on subsequent covers using a small light table.

Dave's subscription service is limited to 27 covers. "That's plenty!", he exclaims. "There's a pattern to this phase. The first nine go smoothly. It's that second group of nine that can really be a drag. Keeping the intensity and interest high is often difficult. By the time you get to the last group of nine, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and those go pretty quickly."

"Most of the covers I do will have unofficial first day cancels", said Dave. "And as far as I know, I'm the only HD/HP cover artist that's using unofficials. I think an unofficial first day cancel adds to the overall collectibility of the cover."

Many collectors agree. Dave adds, "When the U.S. Postal service changed their policy in the 1970's to allow collectors to place orders for first day cancels up to 30 days after the actual issue date of the stamp, the first day issue cancellation lost much of its appeal and value."

Conversely, an unofficial first day cancel has a lot more going for it. The stamps must be purchased at the site of the first day, then transported to another location (perhaps hundreds or even thousands of miles away) and cancelled that same day. The name of the town or city chosen for an unofficial first day cancel will typically have some thematic connection to the stamp.

For example, Dave decided to use Ringling, Montana, as the unofficial first day cover site cancel for his 1990 Circus Wagon stamp covers. He contacted a fellow dealer who purchased the stamps in Rochester, New York, the official first day site, and then had the stamps flown same-day airmail to Dave in Helena. "We picked them up at the Helena airport at ten after five, then jumped in our car and made the seventy mile drive to Ringling. My wife drove. I separated, licked and stuck the stamps on covers. I had already called the postmaster to make arrangements to get the cancels. She was very accommodating, and we were back in Helena by ten that evening."

Dave has made even longer drives to get unofficial first day cancels in Silver Star, Montana, (used for his cover bearing the self-adhesive flag stamp issued in Seattle), and at Black Eagle, Montana, (for his cover featuring the $14 international express mail stamp).

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The following are additional illustrations of the colorful artwork on Dave Dubé HD/HP covers.