Penobscot East
Resource Center has changed its name to Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries. It’s
still the same great group.
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High Tide, Scott Island,
by Carol L. Douglas
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Artists are besieged by requests for auction items. I’ve written
before about how you should contribute if you support the organization’s
goals, but not because you think it will give you a tax deduction.
One organization I endorse is the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries (MCCF)
in Stonington. This non-profit is dedicated to maintaining sustainable fishing
off the Maine coast forever. They think this should be a three-pronged approach:
- · Preserve our diverse ecosystem;
- · Assure continued access to fishing;
- · Maintain profitability for community-scale fishermen.
Much of the charm of the Maine coast comes from the fishing
industry: the lobster fleets bobbing merrily in small harbors and coves, colorful
traps stacked on wharves or fashioned into Christmas trees in the holiday
season.
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| Stonington Green, by Bobbi Heath |
The tourist industry is closely entwined with the fishing
industry. So is the landscape-painting industry. That’s especially true for people like me, who paint a lot of boats.
For that reason, I’ve contributed painted buoys to MCCF’s
auction for several years. My personal favorites were the Mermaid
Madonna and the Lobster That Ate
New York, although the lupine
and fish
ones probably netted the group more money.
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| Stonington Public Landing, by Carol L. Douglas (courtesy the Kelpie Gallery) |
Last year, Bobbi Heath
joined me in contributing a buoy. This year, we’re both contributing again. Happily, the organization has opened the auction up to include
conventional paintings. I found painting on a
cylinder to be devilishly difficult.
On Friday, I delivered a painting done off Stonington, entitled
High Tide, Scott Island. I did this off
the deck of American Eagle last
summer. It was an idyllic day, and I hope my happiness at being on the water is
apparent.
I also delivered Bobbi’s painting, Stonington Green. Administrative Director Bobbi Billings recognized
the house as belonging to someone she knew. That kind of validation always
tickles me, and I wish Bobbi Heath had been there to hear it.
The auction will be held on August 7 at the Opera House in Stonington. For more information, contact MCCF here.
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| Stonington waterfront (unfinished) by Carol L. Douglas |
Friday was one of those days where every curve in the road
elicits a gasp of delight at the wonder and glory of spring. Stonington is
absurdly beautiful, but it’s also two hours from my studio. I’m lucky to get up
there once or twice a summer. That has a bad effect on painting, because the
pressure to choose the ‘right’ scene is immense.
I set up on the deck of MCCF’s office. It provides an iconic
view of Stonington, with its repeating mansard roofs. I gave myself a strict
deadline, after which I would have to be on my way. There’s a lot of drawing in
the painting, and I have to adjust a roofline, but I very nearly made it.
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| Friday's rainbow off Lincolnville. |
I finished in complete solitude in the limpid light of late
afternoon, the tide having filled the basin that lies before the town. In the
distance, I could hear a foghorn bleating. The Maine coast produces erratic
weather and distorts sound, so I had no idea where it might be raining. I
packed my gear and reluctantly headed west. I wasn’t much past Orland when this Spring’s ever-present rain hit my windshield in earnest.
