Horse Island
Before I talk about horses, let me announce this: Rae Chalmers, author of the OXBOW ISLAND GANG series, is hosting a Book Launch on Sunday, June 6 from 12:30 – 3:30 at the Island Lobster Company on Peaks Island! Mark your calendars: join us for food, fun, and games on the lower-level deck to celebrate Rae’s great books. photo © Rae Chalmers Folks may think of lobsters when they think of Maine, but here on Peaks, there’s plenty of horses, too. It’s a little known fact that my first published book for children (2005) was MADDIE’S MAGICAL RIDE by another island...
Read MoreOxbow Island Gang Strikes Again
book cover illustration by Jamie Hogan Peaks Island author Rae Chalmer’s first book, Bear and the Oxbow Island Gang was published in April of 2020, smack in the early stages of what would become our relentless pandemic, with no opportunity to be out meeting her readers at book signings. She decided to just keep writing her second book. Lucky me! I began working on sketches in May after reading an early draft. It’s always a treat to use my habitat for the setting of a book, plus Rae provided some props and images for me. I didn’t have to scan or email my roughs, because we...
Read MoreThis Land Is Your Land
Happy New Year, dear readers! It’s been awhile. I hope you are safe and well in these turbulent times. I’ve been finding that walks, even short ones, re-calibrate my jangled nerves. What about you? Nature is the best medicine we’ve got. I recently learned that the Peaks Island Land Preserve has 12 miles of trails on the little Rock I call home. My partner is on the board of this quiet little non-profit org that protects 20% of the island from development, no small thing along Maine’s shores. My family and I roamed and rambled about on New Year’s Day, getting...
Read MoreCurtain Call
I knew in January before the pandemic hit that my turn illustrating posters for Portland Stage was over. The marketing director, Eileen Phelan, had left for other frontiers and it was likely the new hire would have other plans. But what a good run: 48 posters over the course of a decade of theater seasons. Thank you, Portland Stage! I owe this gig to my dear friend, island neighbor, and fellow illustrator, Doug Smith. He illustrated a poster for Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen, and gave us a pair of complimentary tickets to see the show, my first trip to Portland Stage. He enjoyed working with the...
Read MoreNative Gardens
We saw the newest production at Portland Stage last night, Native Gardens by Karen Zacarias. Directed by Jade King Carroll, it’s a rollicking take on border relations in more ways than one. I worked on the poster a year ago, in the bleak mid-winter, when drawing botanical motifs was a quite welcome task. I presented a dozen rough ideas, here are some of them. The play centers on two couples, one older, white, and established in an upscale neighborhood in suburban DC, the other new homeowners, young and ambitious, and expecting a baby. The contrasts are striking and conflict ensues...
Read MoreHot stuff
It’s probably no surprise that our island home has it’s share of nautical elements. After all, it was built by a sea captain, Henry Trefethen in 1844. There’s Marty’s Uncle Jack’s ship in a bottle. print by Kris Johnsen, ship in a bottle by Jack Hinkley I’ve drawn my share of ships, like the beautiful Wendemeen, below. pastel in frame by Jamie Hogan, stone sculpture by Kathy Hanley I was in a nautical vintage mood when I created my valentine card this year. I’d come across an old snapshot, circa 1985, of a ship sailing in Penobscot Bay, as well as a...
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