A French Artist on the American Roads!
As you may already know, I have been creating travel books for many years, during my travels in Europe, America, and Asia.
The global health crisis we are going through has changed my travel plans a lot… Now, if I plan to travel, I limit myself to trips in France.
So, I have decided to take out my travel books and share with you my biggest trip: my four-month road trip in the United States!
A Camper-Van Trip Across the United States
First of all, let me introduce you to our traveling companion, which carried us for more than 15,000 kilometers.
It was an old machine that burned a LOT of gasoline… But it was really comfortable for traveling with my 4-month-old baby… and above all, its price was very interesting!!
For this long trip, we planned a road trip from Montreal (where we were living at that time), heading West through Chicago to discover Western parks, reaching California, driving on the famous Route 66, heading back East to visit Louisiana, and finally going North again.
Here are my best travel sketches (and my best memories!). I have added a few excerpts from my travel book to complete my illustrations.
Chicago
Chicago and its Cloud Gate sculpture in Millennium Park.
The town and the little people we are, are reflected in it. The sculpture is very popular: a crowd is gathered all around … it is difficult to take a picture … I take my pencils!
Deadwood
Deadwood and its Western atmosphere! Step back a century, into the time of the gold seekers! A little bit touristic, but some buildings still have an old-world charm.
Mount Rushmore
After a bend, the four pairs of presidential eyes stare at the horizon… It is a truly impressive sensation to see them in real life… Carved in light rock, their faces have beautiful contrasts thanks to the morning light.
Arches National Park
A winding road climbs among the blood-red peaks. We take many photography breaks, wanting to capture all these oddly shaped rocks, the huge hanging rock, fairy chimneys, and of course, the stars of the park, the ones that bring curious tourists from all over the world: the famous, the incredible, the breathtaking arches!
Valley of the Gods
Valley of the Gods, a rough diamond untouched by mass tourism. It’s difficult to put words to a landscape we had long hoped to see in front of us… We truly appreciate the solitude of the place. An incredible evening in this grandiose landscape with fiery tones.
Las Vegas
The landscapes are desert-like and arid. Mountains of sand and a few rare green tufts show a little plant life. Las Vegas emerges in the distance, a two-million-inhabitant metropolis, on a plain surrounded by desert mountains… The climate is stifling, we feel like we are in an oven… It is 46°C in the shade…
Bodie, a Ghost Town
A city that once had twenty thousand inhabitants during the gold rush… A fire destroyed Bodie in the 1930s, and it became a ghost town in 1942. We discover abandoned houses, a saloon, a general store, a church, a school… Everything is in an exceptional state of preservation.
Through yellowed curtains, we spy into wooden houses. Everything is covered in a thick layer of dust, cobwebs, stained wallpapers peeling off, mattresses with visible springs… In the kitchens, gas stoves in working order, glasses, plates, pots, tin cans still closed… even abandoned children’s toys. We feel as if people left in a hurry, taking only a suitcase with them…
San Francisco
The Golden Gate Bridge and Alamo Square, two must-sees in San Francisco.
Santa Barbara Pier
Extract from my ravel book for my road trip in the USA. This water color represents Santa Barbara Pier.
La Route 66
Return to the East: we join Route 66, with the famous Hackberry General Store.
San Antonio
The “River Walk” of San Antonio:
A charming walk along green canals—we feel like we are in Venice, but with even more greenery… The gondolas are just missing!
Lake Martin
I loved the bearded trees in the “Bayou” on Lake Martin!
New Orleans
New Orleans is a very special city. A very European soul reigns in the city center… which makes sense for a district called the “French Quarter”!
Oak Alley Plantation
Oak Alley Plantation, a former property built during the sugar cane plantation era. The mansion is grand and has served as the backdrop for many films, including “Interview with the Vampire”!
Cocodril
Cocodril is a village entirely built on stilts! I found its amazing, and very poetic, these colorful dwellings on legs! Cocodril, a village built on stilts, Louisiana.
Here, I hope I have made you travel a little with these excerpts from my travel book!
Did you know that these notebooks are the origin of my wedding-books?
It was in 2014, for my brother’s wedding, that I created my first wedding book!
Would you like to see the “wedding” version?! 🎨👰🎩
