Passing

Acrylic on Canvas

40 x 30

$650

Favorable Wind

Acrylic on Canvas

40 x 40

$650

Once each summer there is a regatta called the Chowder Cup in Friendship, Maine. This is an event that anyone with a boat, except catamarans, can race in. There is no fee and the prize is winning a small ceramic bowl. There are crews that have been racing against each other for years. Friends and neighbors. Small boats and big boats. Experiences sailors and novice. It all goes. The trick is trying to get around all of the working lobster boats as well.

This past summer in Maine, it rained almost every day. This particular day in August, the weather was beautiful. It seemed that every boat was out on the water. I saw boats that I had never seen before. Different sizes, different kinds of sails. There was a sailboat extravaganza. When watching these boats from the shore, it almost looks as if they will crash. These paintings were inspired by my afternoon on the beach.

Turns out that some of the members of the Chowder Cup Regatta committee came to my art opening this summer and invited me to be the artist for next year's regatta. I get to design the tee-shirt. It is such an honor for me to be included in this event. To sweeten the deal, one of them said I could ride on their boat during the race. I will do a wait and see on that part. I am a bit of a land shark.

Working Pier

Heading Out - Tribute to the Lobstermen of Rockland, Maine

Acrylic on Canvas

24 x 36

SOLD

Working Pier

Acrylic on Canvas

24 x 30

$1,000

Both of these paintings were painted on location in Rockland, Maine for an event called “Paint the Town.” It is a fundraiser for the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland. Local artists paint during the day and then submit their “wet” paintings for live auction that day. It is a fun and exciting event. It is also a great way to meet local talent, purchase affordable art and support the museum. For this particular summer, I didn’t paint at all until mid-August. This was unusual for me to go for such a long time without creating anything. What I didn’t realize is that I needed the break and time to re-establish my connection with my creative self and the creative spirit. “Heading Out” was the piece that I donated to the auction. There are such beautiful places in Maine to look at and visit. However, I set my easel up near the working dock. This is the area where fish and lobster are unloaded and put onto trucks. It is loud, smells of fish and diesel. I really saw the beauty there. I painted a tribute to the fishermen that bring us our food. It was so helpful to have the connection to the working men and the creative force.

The pink painting, “Working Pier” was selected for a juried show in Houston for the Hunting Art Prize. My work was selected, along with 130 others out of a pool of 1500 entries. I was honored that I was selected. This was the first time that my work had been included in a juried show of this size.

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Ocean Cathedral

Ocean Cathedral

Acrylic on Canvas

36 x 24

$650

This was my first painting that I completed upon my arrival in Maine. There is a bit of a warm up when I change locations. The landscape and the culture are so different in Maine. There are a lot of similarities as well. [Mosquitoes, fierce independence, pride, amazing food, closeness to the land, etc.] Since my change really is going from a very urban environment to the country, there is a slowing down that happens. There are not as many choices for things, so you make due. There are not many places to go, so you just hang out and be. I spend a lot of time on a very tiny, rocky beach, watching the lobster boats, sailboats and kids playing in the freezing water.

For Ocean Cathedral, I used an old Life magazine from the late 1960s. The focus was sailing. This piece is a depiction of our need to build on the coastline. Higher and higher to see the water. Mansions and shacks alike.