My Kentucky Sketchbook is a collection of his pen & ink drawings that represent the diverse and colorful history of Kentucky! It is his effort to preserve vital bits of heritage to be appreciated by present & future generations. This book is a unique collection of landmarks across the state, .each one is illustrated with the distinctive pen-ink drawings by RAP and accompanied by a brief description to explain its significance to the heritage of Kentucky and the role it may have played in the development of our nation. A capsule of Kentucky history & heritage. Subjects include: Abbey of Gethsemani, Adam Rankin House, Adsmore, Almahurst, Angles (Barkley Home), Arthur Museum, Ashland (Home of Henry Clay), Audubon Museum, Aunt Polly House, Axe Lake Swamp, Belle of Louisville, Benjamin Head House, Blackford Bridge, Blue Licks Museum, Bluegrass Heritage Museum, Boone Tavern, Brown-Lanier House, Butcher Hollow Home, Butler Mansion, Bybee Pottery, Cabin at Cumberland Gap, Cane Ridge Meeting House, Cardome Centre, Casey Jones, Chained Rock, Cherry Hall at WKU, First-Clark House, Coal House, Coal Marker at Baxter, Kentucky Coal Miner, Coal Train, Columbus-Belmont Battlefield, Colville Covered Bridge, Confederate Monument, Constitution Square, Crittenden Birthplace, Cumberland Falls, Duncan Tavern, Evarts Trailhead, Farmington, Fitchburg Furnace, Flat Lick Falls, Kentucky Floral Clock, Floral Hall at Red Mile, Forest Retreat, Fort Harrod, Four Roses Distillery, Gazebo at Kingdom Come, Giddings Hall at Georgetown College, Gold Vault at Fort Knox, Gov. Owsley Home, Gov. Ruby Laffoon Birthplace, Green Mill, Griffith-Franklin House, Hensley Settlement, High Bridge, Jefferson Davis Monument, Kavanaugh Academy, Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Capitol, Kentucky Music Hall of Fame, Leeds Theatre, Lincoln Heritage House, Lincoln Memorial, Locust Grove, Louisville City Hall, McConnell Springs, McDowell House, McHargue Mill, Midway Clock Tower, Mount St. Joseph, Mt. Lebanon, Mulkey Meeting House, My Old Kentucky Home, Nada Tunnel, Natural Bridge, Old Centre, Old Log Courthouse, Old Morrison, Old Mud Meeting House, Old Providence Church, Old Statehouse, Old Stone Inn, Owensboro Carnegie Library, Perryville Battlefield, Pine Mountain Chapel, Pine Mountain State Park, Pioneer Playhouse, Pisgah Church, Raintree Inn, Red River Museum, Renfro Valley, Riverview at Hobson Grove, Rohs Opera House, Saufley Birthplace, Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, Springfield, Squire Pate House, St. Anne Convent, St. Francis Mission, Switzer Covered Bridge, Ripy House, Talbott Tavern, Thomas Walker Cabin, Transfer Train Ferry, Traveler's Rest, UK Main Building, Union College, Union Station, Valley View Ferry, Ward Hall, Waveland, Weisenberger Mill, White Hall, Whitehaven, Whitley House, and Wolf Pen Mill.
About the Author: A native Kentuckian Robert A. Powell grew up in the Appalachian foothills of Powell County and the Bluegrass country in Fayette County. His love for Kentucky's heritage and history has taken him to all 120 counties - to research, photograph and sketch. RAP is an author, historian, teacher, photographer, speaker and artist. After graduating from Bryan Station High School in Lexington, he earned his BA degree at Kentucky Wesleyan, and pursued graduate studies in communications at UK and Western. Powell worked as a journalist for the Clay City Times, Lexington Herald-Leader, and Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer. He taught journalism, art and English at high schools in both Kentucky and Florida, and served as a public relations specialist for the Kentucky Department of Education, the U. S. Office of Education, and Appalachian Regional Hospitals. He also served as Director of Development for Pioneer Playhouse, Kentucky's oldest outdoor theatre. Robert A. Powell was selected as one of the original Kentucky Heritage Artists in 1972, and was named Author of the Year by the Kentucky School Librarians in 1985. He has received many honors and citations from various groups across the state. Powell's most popular books include THIS IS KENTUCKY, his first book (1974). Some of his other more popular works include Kentucky Governors, Kentucky's Covered Bridges, Sketches of Kentucky and a miniature book, Kentucky Sketchbook. In 1977 he created a Kentucky history textbook for middle school students, and with his daughter Karen, developed one for 4th graders (Frontier Kentucky) two years later. True Kentucky Legends, released in 2002, reveals the exciting true story behind 14 of the most prevalent Kentucky legends in American folklore. Proclaimed by the Lexington Herald-Leader as "quite likely the most influential popular chronicler of Kentucky in recent years" Powell's newest book My Kentucky Sketchbook is "a portfolio" depicting a series of Kentucky landmarks - both well-known and rather obscure. The illustrations by Powell in his unique pen-ink style show why his work is so popular. Early in his career he decided to specialize in illustrating Kentucky Images, with an emphasis on landmarks. During that time he has illustrated thousands of subjects throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Indiana, West Virginia as well as national landmarks scattered across the nation, but the concentration of his work has been Kentucky subjects.