I'm pleased to introduce a new ten-painting collection, titled Little Coast. These are small paintings with big impact, exploring the New England coast in acrylic. All are at a 6"x8" scale, ready to hang, and affordably priced to bring a piece of the Gulf of Maine home.
Summer in coastal New England: it’s blue, it’s gray, it’s warm days playing on the sand but only your toes brave the cold water. It’s weathered rocks on winding beaches and a misty breeze that sneaks right through the knit of your sweater. The blue is deep and opaque and still enthralls you (me) when the sun is out. I love how sea air weathers everything, graying the shingled houses, and smoothing rocks, seaglass and driftwood.
The Little Coast series celebrates the coastline I know and love, extending both ways from New Hampshire’s proud 13 miles up through midcoast Maine, and (beyond the scope of this series) even the Maritimes of Canada; and down the coast of Massachusetts to the Cape where I’ve only been once or twice. My family are ocean people, and we’re pulled back to shore like a slow tide every few months, even in winter. The small scale of these paintings allow other ocean people, like us, to hold a piece of the Gulf of Maine closely. They emphasize the scale of a moment and how precious what it contains may be.
Scroll on to see and read about the individual paintings...
Nubble Light
This is undoubtedly the most iconic view in the set. This lighthouse in York, Maine is ever-popular but forever out of reach. It's on a private island a short distance from shore and can only be viewed from Cape Neddick Point on the mainland. Still, hundreds of people (and seagulls) flock there daily to see it. It's just that beautiful.
Scarborough Sunset
The title is quite straightforward- this is Scarborough Beach in Scarborough Maine, at sunset on January 5, 2020 (so, before 4pm.) I was fascinated by the way the light reflected on the wet, packed sand and created a silvery mirror of the sky.
Cape Neddick Point
I nearly named this piece to align with my "looking back" pieces, as it's the view looking away from the often-photographed Nubble Lighthouse. The rocks are fun and gorgeous and trafficked by so many seagulls.
Ash Point
While visiting Owls Head, Maine in 2021, I found a little loop trail around a peninsula called Ash Point. It wove between the woods and rocky shore, and this vantage shows the boundary between the two.
High Tide Island
This painting is named for a tiny, nameless island I explored during a 2021 trip to Owls Head, Maine. This "island" existed only at high tide, and I walked a disappearing peninsula to visit it during the low tide.
Lighthouse Road
Also during a 2021 trip to Owls Head, Maine, I absently snapped a picture of a harbor I passed by on Lighthouse Road. This tree was in frame, and when I cropped it down I just loved the image.
Salisbury Beach
After a particularly bad art market in Salisbury, Massachusetts (actually, the greatest loss I've taken to date), I reasoned that the best way to reset my spirits for the long drive home would be to visit the beach not five minutes away. It's one of those beaches with motels, restaurants and arcades nearly to the water's edge- very touristy, but it was late April and not terribly crowded yet. And I love the architecture of a place like this- hence this painting.
Crescent Beach
My family took a trip to Owls Head, Maine in 2021, and the house we rented was about two minutes' walk from the public but little-known Crescent Beach. We visited daily, of course. I loved staring out at the just-beyond-reach island, and we actually kayaked to it toward the end of our stay, only to find it was a no-people-allowed designated breeding ground for local seabirds.
Owls Head Mist
My family visited Owls Head, Maine in 2021, and you'll notice several paintings in this series inspired by that trip. On the morning depicted in this piece, there was a heavy fog over the coast, swallowing the islands we would otherwise see and even houses just a short walk away. Usually my paintings show sunny days, but in this case, I wanted to show the intrigue that even a misty beach day brings, and how when your field of vision is reduced, that at close range becomes more special.
Kittery Point
This view was near a trailhead I walked in Kittery Point, Maine in April 2024. It was an overcast day and I felt it was a more honest look at what coastal living in New England is for much of the year- gray, misty, chilly.
If you like what you see, click here to shop the entire Little Coast collection, including a boxed set of greeting cards.
