daily paintings

Love Shacks

Summer Day Shacks • 24×24 • oil on canvas • $925purchase link

Peaceful Moon Shacks • 36×24 • oil on canvas • $1325purchase link

Forever Shacks • 24×24 • oil on canvas • $925purchase link

It’s been fun for me to revisit all of my photos and memories of the fishing shacks at Willard Beach that I’ve collected over the years. The fishing shacks were the first Maine landmark I fell in love with when we moved here in 1999. We would walk our pups on Willard and explore the shacks and admire them from all angles. So special. So missed.

Ever since we all watched the shacks get swept away in the devastating January storms I have been obsessed with revisting them in paint, and while I was under the weather for 6 weeks at the beginning year, I didn’t have the energy to get out my bigger canvases and paint them … but now I do. The 9 small paintings I did last month were the perfect thing to get my wheels turning for some larger works and for smaller some studies too. I’ve been playing with some gouache, watercolors and watercolor crayons and have a couple of older block prints as well. Enjoy!

All Fishing Shack paintings available HERE

And I am still planning to do some shacks notecards and or a calendar with proceeds going to coastal support organizations, It may take me a little while, but it will happen. 🙂

Rocky Shore

Rocky Shore • 6×6 • oil on wood • $125 • purchase link

Today I just felt like getting lost on the rocky shore of the Maine coast. I took myself back to some late afternoon rock hopping on Lane’s Island and it was so fun. So many colors to take in and so many gorgeous shapes. I love the rocks and I especially love the mound of greenery with the pine trees poking up.

Ode to the Shacks

Ode to the Shacks – 9 paintings • 6×6 • oil on canvas • SOLD

We lost our iconic fishing shacks to a storm and record breaking tides last month. They were washed into the ocean. The footage of them getting battered and finally surrendering to the sea brought tears to my eyes. As a painter, I get so attached to places and landmarks, and the fishing shacks on Fishermans Point at Willard Beach have long been a favorite subject matter of mine. If I had to guess, I’d say that I have painted them over 100 times. I have always loved their shape and the way they sit perched on the small bluff at the end of Willard Beach and at the edge of the channel coming into the Portland Harbor. The views of the shacks themselves and the views from them of the surrounding islands and lighthouses are quintessential Maine. They will be missed by many.

I spent some time going through all of my photos of the shacks and playing in my sketchbook and finally creating some special little paintings of them. It felt good to visit them in my memory and with my brush. I hope to do a couple of larger pieces and a few works on paper, but for now, I’m sharing this little series of 6x6s.

I plan to make some notecards or a calendar with some of these images and donate a portion of the proceeds to support our coastal communities that were impacted by these January storms and extreme high tides.

Sunny Day

Sunny Day • 6×6 • oil on wood • $125 • purchase link

The sun has been shining bright the past few days and it got me thinking about my sunny autumn walks on Vinalhaven. On this particular day I hopped down to the shore to check out the view of a tidal inlet and the sun was beaming down on the water and the trees. It was magic!

Morning Light

Morning Light • 6×6 • oil on wood • $125 • purchase link

Here’s my last January Eastern Prom painting looking out at Fort Gorges. I walk our pups down here every morning and it’s always a treat to feel those first rays on your face. This was a cold morning prior to our snowfalls and I love how the bare and frozen ground glows in shades of red and orange.

Bright Winter Morn

Bright Winter Morn • 6×6 • oil on wood • $125 • purchase link

I’ve been soaking up the magic on the Eastern Promenade this month. Every day is different and every day is gorgeous. This particular morning was extra special because it was so still and sunny and bright. I was even able to take off my hat and mittens and soak up the warmth from the winter sun. Such a treat.

January Morning

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January Morning • 6×6 • oil on wood • $125 • purchase link

Sunrises over snow are so breathtaking. Here’s a sunrise on the Eastern Prom from earlier this month. I love the blues of the snow and the rays of the sun peeking over the horizon and beyond. Sunrises set such a wonderful tone for the day.

Quiet Beauty

Quiet Beauty • 6×6 • oil on wood • $125 • SOLD

What a beautiful and peaceful snowfall we have today! I love looking out at the Casco Bay Islands and Fort Gorges in this kind of weather. There is such a quiet beauty about this scene. I’m so enjoying looking at this view from the Eastern Promenade in different winter weather and light. It’s all so magical and painting snowflakes is fun!

Winter Promenade

Winter Fort Sunrise • 6×6 • oil on wood • $125 • purchase link

Winter Afternoon Walk • 6×6 • oil on panel • $125 • purchase link

My world has been fairly small over the past few weeks because I haven’t been feeling well, but the one constant I have had is my doggy walks on the Eastern Promenade. I have been so grateful to be able to get outside for 2 walks a day and to soak up the winter beauty of the prom and the views of Fort Gorges and the Casco Bay Islands. So dreamy! And I’m happy to report I am finally starting to feel like myself … and getting to spend time in the studio today felt amazing!!! YAY!

Island Moon

Island Moon – framed • 6×6 • gouache on panel • $150 • purchase link

You know I love watching the sun rise and the sun set …. well, catching a moon rise or set is so special too. What a gift to get to witness these moments in beautiful settings. This is a gouache painting on wood panel and it is framed in a custom gray wooden frame. I have had a great time playing with gouache (it’s basically an opaque watercolor)… I love the immediacy of it, as it dries very quickly, and there’s a quiet to the soft, flat colors.