Maine boathouse landscape

A new watercolor and ink illustration. This one is of a little boathouse on Vinalhaven island off the coast of Maine. We took the ferry out to the island very early, and hit some dense patches of fog, which was very pretty. Large tidal areas and little spits of land full of pines. Lots of lobster fishing here, a good percentage of the island's population are lobstermen.

It's fun drawing complex subjects in this style. Landscapes are an interesting challenge. This one is 11x14", on the larger side for me.


Prints in the shop: Boathouse illustration

Below: Detail of the boathouse and the unique weather vane.

Exploring a foggy Maine island

Some images from my trip to Maine this year. These are from Hog Island in the Muscongus Bay. We stayed at the Audubon camp on the island for several days.

Beautiful fog the first couple days. Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Eiders, Loons, and Guillemots.

As usual, spent lots of time exploring the beaches and tidal zones.

Lobster boat from Bremen going out to work.
Below - moss, lichen, and old man's beard everywhere.

We also found wild Orchids. I've wanted to see them in the wild since I became interested in plants, so seeing these was a highlight. I didn't even know they grew this far north.

Luna Moth Watercolor Illustration

As promised, here is my watercolor of the Luna Moth I saw in Maine. It was quite fun to paint and such a nice shade of green I don't get to use too often. I love the fern antennae.
A little series of colorful moths would be fun, don't you think? 

Luna Moth Print in my shop

Trip to Maine

Had a great time in Maine. Saw a lot of neat things and got a lot of fun ideas that I'm excited to paint.

On Hog Island

A little harbor at Owl's Head

Really cool Luna Moth. This will be fun to paint. Love the fern antennas.

Razorbill egg painting

Working on a new landscape painting today. Hurricane Irene has passed. We didn't get much except some wind and steady rain all night. Still a little windy and wet outside.

This is a watercolor I did the other day of a Razorbill Egg. A seabird related to the extinct Great Auk. I like painting from life as much as possible, but this was done from photos I took at Matinicus Rock.


And a somewhat blurry photo of a Razorbill we saw at Egg Rock.

Puffin art

A new watercolor for Project Puffin. A lot of the Puffins I saw in Maine were in the water like this, swimming around the nesting islands.

Puffin watching

On my first boat trip out to see the puffins, I was told to look for "flying footballs" to spot them. Sure enough when we pulled up to the island little football birds started flying past. Chunky and cute little guys.

Puffin Colony and Ocean illustrations

A new puffin illustration. Watercolor and ink. Drawn after my visit to Maine and the Puffin colonies. This one in particular was inspired by my trip out to Matinicus Rock, one of the Puffin nesting islands.


We spent about 10 hours out on boats this day. First on a ferry to Vinalhaven, an island populated by mostly fishermen, and then on a lobster boat, which dropped off supplies and researchers at two of the Puffin islands. I was lucky enough to go ashore on Matinicus Rock and view the Puffins and Terns nesting there (and climb the lighthouse). The illustration was inspired by how the Puffins would gather together in little groups. I never knew they huddled so close together.



Also, here are two commissions that were a lot of fun to draw. Deep and Shallow Ocean Scenes.

Deep Ocean: Vampire Squid, Angler Fish, Eel, Plankton, and various Jellyfish


Shallow Sea: Octopus, Nautilus, Seahorses, Coral, Crabs, Anemones, Jellyfish, Starfish, Seaweed, and Fish

Maine Lighthouses

Here are just a few lighthouses we saw in Maine. Had a lot of fun driving around and seeing them. I plan to paint them, which will keep me busy for quite a while.

Curtis Island Lighthouse in fog.

Marshall Point Lighthouse (above and below). I visited all the close ones in foggy and clear weather for some different pictures.



Owl's Head Lighthouse from the ferry

Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse. Fun tide pools and rocks to explore.

Curtis Island Lighthouse watercolor

This is Curtis Island Lighthouse, which sits on a little island at the entrance to Camden's Harbor.

Maine Trip - Wildlife and sea birds

Saw a lot of great wildlife in Maine. Which included Puffins of course.


We visited 3 islands where they nest. The pictures above were taken on Matinicus Rock where I got to go ashore for a bit. This day we spent 8 hours on ferries and a lobster boat - a very fun adventure.


Also saw a lot of other cool seabirds, including this Murre (below).

Other fun wildlife included Seals, Minks, Loons, Eagles, Razorbills, Petrels, Cormorants, and Eiders.


Arctic Terns nesting on Matinicus Rock. Below is the baby tern i got to hold.

Puffin Linocut

A great trip to Maine, visiting seabird and Puffin colonies. And a lot of cool lighthouses. More about it later.

Project Puffin Show in Maine

Off to Maine for a week. Show at Audubon's Project Puffin. Opening is July 6th, 5-7 pm.

311 Main Street
Rockland, ME 04841

Puffins

Some Puffin illustrations for a show in Maine.