When I first looked at the reference photo for this painting, I was struck by the surreal feeling of floating in space created by the figure and the shadow above and below the water. Achieving this illusion was a challenge, but after a few wrong turns, I figured out how to interpret the water within the shadow and adjust all the values to work together. The bright light in this painting adds to lead the eye through the highlights on the hat, suit float and water.

I loved the brilliant, refracting light in this one. It was a challenge, but fun at the same time.

Once again, one of my beautiful sisters is my model. This one is fittingly titled, since the sister who modeled for it is a cancer survivor. I gave her the original while she was treading in the “deep end” of her life.

My models for this first painting in my Swimmers Series are two of my beautiful sisters. Since I love water and beautiful sunlight, as well as the childlike feeling of carefree summer days, I wanted to capture that in Floating.

This third painting in my swimmers series is the largest yet. When I'm finished with a painting, I often judge its success on whether I like it better than the reference photos. I believe that even realism should lend itself to communicating more than just the facts. An artist should cause the viewer to discover something, feel an emotion or evoke personal connections. This painting definitely does that.

This is my first swimmer out of the water. I loved how the composition in this one relies heavily on shape and value. The feeling of asymmetry is thrown off by the float in the left corner. I love how shape and line play the largest role in this painting.

SOLD: I laughed when viewers remarked what a sweet moment this was between a lady and her two dogs. The real story was that the little dog kept stealing the big dog’s turns so the lady had to scold the little dog to get him to share. Either way, all three had a fun time after all!

SOLD: I saw these dogs taking their owner for a walk. Either way, the surf, the salty air and the beach made the walk enjoyable for all.

SOLD: This little pug needed plenty of encouragement from his owner to keep up with her. It was a beautiful day for a walk on the beach.

SOLD: I liked the way these guys looked in a group, just talking. What was funny was their dog was just as chill, more interested in his human companions than all the other dogs running around on the beach.

Available: Although dogs are supposed to be on leash while on the beach, I enjoy watching them when their owners let them run around. This painting is of one such group, and it was comical to see them interact and enjoy the open space.

Private Collection: This scene is of my daughter and her dog, so it was especially fun to create. The only challenge was to choose one out of the dozens of photos I've taken of them over the years. I chose this one partly for the lack of horizon and the deep blue of the sea as it rolls in.

SOLD:

This second painting in the Stonington Fishermen series captures the pre-dawn ritual of taking on bait before heading out to sea, but has different light and color than the first. I love how the first two paintings in this series are the same size and orientation, but have a totally different look. The boat light on the rail is showcased against the rocks in the background, and the the light and color are beginning to change as dawn approaches.

SOLD:

This was the first boat I photographed, standing in the dark, across the harbor. It had just gotten to the huge commercial dock to load up, needing the lights as the fishermen worked.

Available at Small Wonder Gallery

This is a smaller dock located in Stonington Harbor. After the bustle of the fishermen and boats at the commercial fishing pier, I walked down the road to other parts of the harbor as it was getting lighter. About the time I took in this scene, it was probably 45 minutes later than the majority of fishing boats that scrambled to leave in the blackness. The lights on the boats and dock still contrasted beautifully with the early dawn blue-violet haze, as these fishermen seemed a little more relaxed about their time of departure.

Finally, after 14 months from the completion of my original Clam Diggers, I have a second watercolor in this series. When I posted my first one, I wrote about the beautiful morning that I watched these two men digging for clams on the beach at Cape Rosier's Orr Cove. I haven't stopped wondering who my subjects are, and if I could somehow locate them so that I could give them a print in this series. After all, I'm sure I seemed like nothing more than an annoying tourist at the time, showing up, standing near the road and snapping pics every so often.

To me, the beauty of this scene lies in the brilliance of the morning light, with the thousands of sparkles dancing all around the the silhouetted figures. I wanted to capture that, along with the slow, peaceful feeling of the sea and the work.

SOLD

I like to zoom in on an image and crop it up close, and that's just what I did with the photo of this large pile of buoys. When I came upon this scene in mid-coast Maine, I liked how the colorful buoys were all tumbled on top of each other in the beautiful, cobalt blue water.

Beach Shack Buoys; 36x12” oil

SOLD

The long, narrow composition for this painting crops these colorful buoys in such a way that it gives a feeling of movement. The beach shack background color is an actual beach shack belonging to a local seafood restaurant (Ray’s Seafood) in Rye, NH. It is a wonderful cobalt-type blue that I love to see every time I go there and thought would make a great backdrop for this painting.

I decided to choose from my reference photos of buoys from NH and Maine and arrange them together into this composition. Doing this created some fun challenges for me, as I had to study the shape of every buoy and not only decide where every shadow would fall, but how neighboring colors would affect each shadow. I think one of my favorite parts of this painting is the color - not just the buoy colors, but the shadow colors.

SOLD

I enjoyed working on this painting. While my eye is drawn to the different shapes and colors, I think my favorite part is how the sunlight creates patterns on the shed and illuminates the buoys.

SOLD

These colorful glass floats and buoys were so fun to paint. I loved the process of finding the depth and color in the shadows. I also like the contrast in this painting. The smooth, shiny buoys next to the work-worn buoys and the glowing glass floats make my eyes travel around this sun-soaked composition.

Available at Small Wonder Gallery

This buoy painting has been a challenge. I wanted to get up close and capture the peeling paint, scratches and range of bright and dull colors all tumbled together. The way the eye moves through the painting from lower left to upper right and back down through the reflections is contrasted with the angles of the buoys and their handles going from upper left to lower right. This creates a complete circle and reminds me of the kaleidoscopes we used to play with as kids.

Available: contact artist

This buoy painting proved to be a challenge. The fading clapboards, along with the variety of weathered buoys and shadows took more time and problem solving than usual. For this composition, I snapped a reference photo of buoys hanging on a New England fishing shack. The original photo had a few nets hanging in back of and around the buoys, which I decided to leave out because it was too busy-looking. Taking the net out allowed me to showcase the shadows and sharp edges of the buoys. Then I looked through my other buoy reference photos and took out the ones I didn't like in the original photo and replaced them with other buoys from around the New England coast.

Like always, I like to study the chipped, fading paint, scratches and numbers of the buoys I paint. It's interesting to think about the years they have spent in the ocean, on boats or hanging in the sun, rain and weather on a fishing shack like this one.

SOLD

My first painting of buoys- the color of the shack steals the show! The work-worn, scratched-up condition of these buoys takes a close second.

SOLD

The light is key in this painting. From the bright line designs cast on the schooner, to the illuminated light coming through the flag, to the tangle of reflections in the water - the light competes for center stage with the large flag.

SOLD

I chose to paint this scene because I liked how the boats just glowed with the brilliant hues of cobalt blue. I decided to crop the painting so that the angles of the dock and boats played off of the dark reflections in the negative space of the surrounding water. I just want to step into this sun-soaked scene and drift off in one of these little boats.

12x16” oil

SOLD

Dice Head lighthouse, located in Castine, Maine, was first lit in 1828, and has a long and interesting history. Despite its title, the sky is the main subject in this painting. The building cumulus clouds cut dynamic negative space into the bright blue sky, and the top half of the painting feels alive with movement. In contrast, the lighthouse is bathed in sunlight from directly above, causing the sides of the house to rest in shades of cool blue and violet while the surrounding landscape sparkles.

Private Collection

I was driving along a little bay where the water came up just a few feet from the road when I saw this big old barn and red house. The sun was shining so beautifully and made the whole scene glow. The textures of the old boat, barn and clapboard siding caught my eye, along with the way the red house seemed to crouch at just the right angle to the left of the barn.

SOLD

This scene, with its dramatic sunset and shadows, was one of the most fleeting and beautiful moments of my summer. My mother and I had traveled to "down east" Maine for a weekend of taking reference photos; and on our first night on Deer Isle, we drove out to see Pumpkin Isle Light just as the sun was setting and even glowed through two of the windows.

SOLD

I really enjoy the colors in this painting. This little boat became my subject of a painting because of the sunlight and the contrast between the sand on the shore and the reflections in the water. A simple, but serene little scene. 

SOLD

One summer morning, I drove the scenic, winding roads that follow the shoreline of mid-coast Maine. Among the many beautiful sights of harbors with sparkling water and bobbing boats, fields of wildflowers and the expanse of blue ocean, there was this little red house bathed in the morning sunshine, perched above Penobscot Bay.

SOLD

This little yellow, seaside cottage has been painted by many artists who visit mid-coast Maine. When I was staying in the beautiful fishing village of Stonington, Maine, I saw this famous yellow house and decided to snap a few reference pics to try my hand at it as well. For my take on it, I decided to showcase the sunlight and shadows, contrasting the bright yellow with the deep blue of the ocean and dark pines.

SOLD

I spotted these mid coast Maine fishermen out in a sea of fog and buoys on a beautiful morning and I couldn't believe the amount of buoys floating in the harbor - they looked like tiny little lines as they receded into the distance. I love the monochromatic look to this scene - the blue violet light is a quiet, calm element.

Private Collection

This stormy scene is of one of the Moran tugboats working to guide a huge container ship into the Portsmouth harbor. I love the mood of the painting, and how the tug is churning up water and pouring out smoke as the rain comes down and the sailors look on.

SOLD

SOLD

Private Collection

SOLD

SOLD

SOLD