Pastels ici!
I am thrilled to share that my pastel, Regatta, is included in Paintings of Portland by Carl Little and David Little. The book spans two hundred years of art in all seasons featuring my pretty city across the bay. Check it out! I did this pastel years ago for a show on Peaks Island, and it’s in the collection of Bill and Patty Zimmerman, wonderful patrons of the arts. That’s Fort Gorges, which I pass on every ferry trip, and I love seeing it under clouds of all shapes. Pastel studies of seascapes and changing light have kept me busy between illustration projects for many years....
Read MoreOpossum Tails to Come
I met Wilbur well before I began illustrating a picture book story about opossums! Last October the Center for Wildlife brought him in as a wildlife ambassador to my junior illustration class at Maine College of Art. We were all smitten by his toothy grin. This was my first sketch of many. By the spring of this year, author Lyn Smith sent me her manuscript for What Makes an Opossum Tick? and another journey of illustrating a picture book began. I gathered all I could on opossums and traveled to Moody Point for a creative retreat in late May. This house would become the setting for the...
Read MorePace Yourself, Class of 2019
What good fortune to chaperone the Illustration MECA field trip to Stonington along with fearless Department Chair Mary Anne Lloyd! Maine College of Art’s Pace House is a splendid destination even under overcast skies. Our troop arrived in four vehicles, 13 students in all. After grilled cheese sandwiches and soup, they set out for the nearby Lily Pond. A downpour brought them dashing back, where they gathered around a toasty wood stove to dry off, sketch, and play games, surrounded by Stephen Pace’s paintings. Nothing finer than breaking bread together! I made a couple of MECA...
Read MoreBen Butler’s Surprise
This is my fourth year of illustrating all the posters for Portland Stage’s season. This time I was asked to provide a cohesive, limited palette as well as hand-lettering for all the posters, to better connect the group as a whole. I admit I was surprised by last night’s performance of Ben Butler by Richard Strand. When I read the play in January, I was dubious about the script, a slice of Civil War history based on actual events and real people but with invented dialogue. Still, I came up with numerous approaches after some visual digging about that period. In one scene, a...
Read MoreLook up, lunatics!
Happy Fall, everyone! When the air is crisp and the skies cloudless, I enjoy wandering the neighborhood on nights like these. The moon inspires my life and art in so many ways. Taking little breaks to witness natural beauty keeps me balanced. I’m pleased to announce the arrival of the 2019 Lunar Calendar, which I illustrated back in June when the dandelions were in full bloom. Do they not remind you of the moon? The publisher, Nancy F. W. Passmore of The Luna Press, sent along an envelope full of poems in May. One by Beatrice Greene titled “ms. dandelion” struck a chord....
Read MoreMoto Scotia 2018
Today is National Grandparents Day, and I dedicate this post to my grandfather, Roland Bell Hogan, who himself was the grandson of Patrick Hogan who left Belfast, Ireland to settle in Young’s Cove, Nova Scotia in the mid- 1800’s. Our recent trip to Nova Scotia was all about connecting with family and friends. I’m ever grateful to be part of the Hogan clan! After Marty and I boarded the CAT ferry in Portland, Maine we got out our sketchbooks. Here’s his opener: The trip was about two hours longer than advertised, thanks to debris clogging one of the ship’s jets....
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