North by Northeast

Roy Ellis and Walter Cronkite teamed up to publish this beautiful, high quality book of nautical art. We found a good used copy of this book recently and bought it immediately. My wife and I are fortunate to have grown up around Cape Cod, and to appreciate the harbors and other coastal scenes that Ellis has depicted in the book. Cronkite had sailed these waters and describes the scenes very well. I do not know if this is still published, and I do not think that it is, but if you can find a used copy of the mid-1980s edition, and I do not know if there had been any other editions, then hold on to it and pass it along. Other family members have received copies of this book over the years as gifts, and my daughter, nieces, nephew, and friends visiting often gravitate toward these copies, which are usually sitting on coffee tables in many Cape Cod living rooms. This book is especially good to pick up on the cold winter nights and ponder warmer days on the water!

This came to mind today on learning of the death of a newscaster that I often listened to in moments seared into my being. He wrote the forward to this book and offered an introduction of the artist. It brought me memories of Cronkite oddly as I just took it out to say goodbye. I suppose as news has been plundered in recent times he slips off the stage in a time news is doing the same. At a very young four, when my mom washed the windows, he told me of the death of our President, and then I told her. So much he "introduced" into my life just as he does this work. Space travel, riots, civil rights, artists, revolutions, crimes, crisis and the century moved on. At another time he spoke against a war, on yet another occasion- the last I saw him on network stuff- he was asking Dan Rather if bankrupting the future of our children with a Gulf War was so wise. He had guts. But I never saw him again in the position to ask the tough questions. That voice is the one speaking of his friend here and talking of his love of sailing and the watercolors of this artist as vehicles to capture those feelings. I often take this book out, or put it back on the coffee table and look at the images.On the surface quite academic....I find it very appealing. It has lovely text describing the artist's process, life, technique, and thoughts. There are pictures here that I find quite an escape into the kinds of places I haven't really traveled or ever known, east coast. His actual technique is dramatically good and the descriptions so interesting. I'm not necessarily sure why my brother selected this for me, I was in my twenties or early thirties when he sent it, one of a rare few gifts from him and very unexpected, but it has meant a great deal to me. I would think that it might stand also as the kind of thing Cronkite would do-to share out the work of his friend in this tribute to his life of creating. If you enjoy pictures of the sea,watercolor, of island, of coast, sailing you would appreciate the work.

This is one of the most beautiful books I have EVER seen in print. There are over 110 prints of Ray Ellis' paintings in this book and they are all of frameable quality...which is why it is so hard to find a complete copy. Walter Cronkite wrote the story that accompanies this beautiful book and he is a master at the craft. This a coffee table sized book that will draw everyone inside!