This painting of the Nivison Cottage (Lot #35) on Squirrel Island, ME, was commissioned by Mary Nivison in 2024.
Willow’s Rock
Landscape & Seascape Paintings
Deere Crossing
Wyeth Studio at Eight Bells
This is the view of Andrew Wyeth’s studio at “Eight Bells” overlooking the St. George River in Port Clyde, Maine. I was so immersed in my painting that I didn’t immediately notice when just about over my head two osprey were diving and shrieking at a bald eagle who was attempting to steal their nest. It took a minute for their racket to break through my concentration, but when it did it sent shivers through my body as I looked around and tried to really appreciate the beauty of this incredible moment.
I was incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to paint at Eight Bells, the summer home of the Wyeth family, and current summer residence of Helga Testorf, Andrew’s model for many years. N.C. Wyeth bought the island home in 1920 and named it after one of the best-known paintings by another Mainer and an artist much admired by Wyeth, Winslow Homer. The phrase “eight bells” refers to a ship’s watch-keeping system, in which a bell is rung every half hour to track time at sea. For the next century, N.C., then Andrew, then Jamie summered here and found inspiration for some of their most famous works.
Geometry at Meadow Spring Farm
After a long morning of painting with the Peace Valley Plein Air Painters group at the beautiful Meadow Spring Farm in Perkasie, PA , I was compelled to stop my car as I exited the property to photograph the geometric angles created by the barns and outbuildings and the light and shadows they cast in the mid-day summer sun. There’s something that always grabs me when I see red barns bathed in light.
Golden Morning at Tyler State Park
Our Spot at Lake Galena
Peace Valley Park is a favorite destination for a summer picnic and I love this secluded spot on the North end of Lake Galena. It’s perfect for launching kayaks and enjoying some fishing, paddle-boarding and picnicking.
View from their Resting Place
Recently I spent a week painting en Plein air at several locations in Maine, one of which was at the Olson House in Cushing, ME. This National Historic Landmark is well known as the setting for Andrew Wyeth’s painting, Christina’s World, and some 300 other paintings and drawings by Wyeth inspired by the house and its residents, brother and sister Alvaro and Christina Olson. The site has a significant, long-reaching heritage: homeland to Indigenous peoples and later colonists and their descendants who built the house and farmed the land. I shared this particular view with Andrew and Betsy Wyeth, the Olson family, and a few others who have been laid to rest in the small burial ground surrounded by trees on the cliff overlooking the St. George River.
Curtis Island Light
Ginn Point
Maine Marshes
