Off the Road:: An American Sketchbook

by Elisha Cooper

In the summer of 1995, New York artist Elisha Cooper hit the road to capture America with his paint brush.

Fifteen thousand miles and 136 sketches later, his cross-country odyssey resulted in Off the Road --a visual diary that captures the spirit of places as majestic as Yellowstone and as quaint as Alice, North Dakota.

Beginning with the Manhattan skyline, he heads north through the heart of New England, loops back down through the deep south, breezes past the arid Southwest, hits the California coast, and swings back through the Plains states on his way home to New York City. It's a fifty-day whirlwind tour that includes stop-offs in Friendship, Maine; Intercourse, Pennsylvania; Moss Point, Mississippi; Enid, Oklahoma; Pilar, New Mexico; Hollywood Hills, California; Canby, Oregon; Moose Junction, Wyoming; Chicago, Illinois; and Muskegon, Michigan.

A lovely gift, with full-color art throughout, Off the Road is sure to delight readers with its whimsical yet perceptive look at America.

Genres: Art

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful! Ideal July 4th reading. Just lovely!

[melydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of drawings from a man's drive across America, starting in New York City and making it all the way to Florida and California and back home over the course of 50 days. Like many people, I can't imagine being able to take off from my life for almost three straight months, but it was fun to live vicariously for a little while. The art is lovely.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading again, for the first time in several years, this wonderfully-illustrated, whimsical, unique sketchbook of a roadtrip. This was the last book my literary dad gave me before he irretrievably descended into Alzheimer's, and so it is especially poignant. I love this author's watercolor sketches and his writing.