Prints

The Domed Wonder

High on a hill in the tiny French village of St. Cirice stands this wondrous domed structure, a true masterwork, in my mind, of stone construction. Its purpose, though, was a mystery to me. A year later, when I returned to the area for another visit, I managed, after a number of inquiries, to find someone who provided the answer. “It’s a well house,” he said. The next day I spied another one clearly built with the same plans. No doubt this dome’s been sheltering this well for a very long time.

The Elephant Tree

This wonderful aging maple looms outside my kitchen window. When my mother moved in with me she named it “the elephant tree” because of its odd limb structure. It has been cabled to help it live longer, and it provides abundant shade to the front yard. I can only hope it outlives me, because I cannot imagine life without it.

The Errant Vine

A clematis vine outside my dining room window is inclined to expand, by late August, beyond my expected limits for its scope. This time it worked its way through and around the shutter slats.

The Fallen Pear

Aside from the compositional appeal of this scene, it makes me chuckle to think of this pear, which just couldn’t seem to sit upright with his peers, as being “fallen” in other ways as well. He is another one of my ongoing fascination with anthropomorphic pear scenes.

The Followers

One late June day on a bike ride I passed this field where a farmer on his John Deere was raking newly cut hay. A flock of seagulls was floating above and behind him, clearly expecting some kind of free lunch to emerge from his efforts. I carried the image in my head for a number of years before I finally put it onto paper. I’m not sure why I waited so long. When I finally put it together, I was pretty pleased with the result.

The Garden Watchers

On daily bike rides one summer I routinely passed this garden with its two chairs. As the season progressed and the garden began to develop, its particular crops became more obvious, as squash leaves took over, corn rose, and tomatoes were visible in their ripening. The chairs kept moving, too, as though affording attention (perhaps even a cheering section) to different aspects of the garden. I never saw the chairs inhabited, but their presence and migration let me know that they, at least, were watching the garden grow.

The Horseshoe Pitch

On Monhegan Island at The Trailing Yew, a classic boarding house, the horseshoe pitch is a focal point. Everyone gathers here to await the clanging bell that signals the arrival of each day's breakfast and dinner. Tinting the pine tree that overlooks this scene was an experiment. Fortunately, I liked the results.

The Japanese Island

Friends invited me to their home along the Damariscotta River. The little island their view included gave the scene a very Japanese quality. I knew immediately I needed to draw that island, so I invited myself back to revisit the view.

The Kitchen Window

A shasta daisy and the apple tree outside my kitchen window both bore fruit at the same time one summer. I looked out the window, and there was a print which needed to be put on a plate; thus, “The Kitchen Window”.

The Passage

All prints in this edition have been sold.

From a spot on the shoreline near Owls Head light, this scene struck me one late fall day. It was no problem for me to imagine mooring a boat here and making my way out this passage to enjoy a day of adventure on the water. More likely, though, this passage really belongs to the many souls from this village who trap lobster, use it each day, and know it intimately.