Project Description

Here is a tribute, a tipping of the hat to the hard working lobstermen of the Penobscot Bay.   I set out to capture a way of life, a generation upon the water and an industry that is thriving, yet fragile.   

I spent the month of September on the water, photographing, visiting with and helping on the boats.  I would get most of my reference material within the first few hours and then it was about working and talking with the lobstermen.  I took time through the winter months to create representations that are not only visual depictions, but also personal expressions of these people. I strive to capture an emotion, a subtle gesture or attitude that may allow you, the viewer, to react and feel.  I have left the individuals I paint anonymous as a means to respect them and to allow your mind to wander and think towards the feeling of salt on your skin, wind in the hair and a relationship to the sea.

These paintings are representational to a great extent, yet they move into abstraction as water and paint flow together.  I throw salt into them as tribute to effect and the ocean.  I abuse the paper as many fishermen do their bodies with repetition and hard work.  I paint with a monochromatic pallet that mimics the fog and I give subtle hints of light and color. Here is a tribute to the hardworking men and women that make their living along the Maine coast.