Winter Islands in Snow: in Search of Winslow Homer

After visiting Winslow Homer's house/studio earlier this winter, I wanted to find his light. He often chose to paint under stormy skies, capturing a rough sea. That's a bit easier to do if your studio has a covered porch overlooking the water. I imagined this is how Winslow Homer would have seen my part of Maine.

On summer days I've often driven to Lookout Point to paint watercolors. My studio travels with me.

While painting, I've wondered what the islands would like under stormy skies and snow.

After a winter storm, I usually grab my skis and head into the woods. This time I took my camera and drove eight miles to the sea.

Allen's Seafood lobster shack was transformed under a frosting of snow.

The dock took on a level of abstraction, so quiet and empty, like a ghost town.

Even the trees seemed to shiver in the bitter cold.

The sea was nothing like I'd ever seen before: Arctic, forlorn. The wind was something else. I could barely hold the camera steady, bracing my feet against the ice. I had to take breaks to warm up in the car.

Then as suddenly as the storm had blown in, the sun broke through the clouds.

The stormy coast was now tamed, but I'm glad I saw it in the wild of winter. One day I shall paint this wintery scene too, but not on location! At this time of year, I'm writing in my office or reading by the fire. Winslow Homer is influencing my new novel too, insinuating his dramatic imagery upon the page.