look and learn
Getting out to see current exhibits is always a refresher. I jumped at the chance to chaperone Susannah Green’s French 4 field trip from Portland High School to the Portland Museum of Art recently. She intended to expose the class to the French Impressionism on the second floor, but many students were mesmerized by the Richard Estes work in the main gallery. His work is photorealism extraordinaire, yet on close inspection, reveals brushwork and fascinating layers of perception. I’m fond of this one in particular because of the phone booths. I grew up at the Red Doors Motel, where...
Read MoreNorman Rockwell Museum
Last Sunday we were on the road, visiting colleges. No sermons or egg hunts, yet the Easter bunny found us in a parking garage over the Mass Pike. What serendipity to discover the Mass Pike ends in Stockbridge, home of the Norman Rockwell Museum. We decided to worship there for awhile. As an illustrator, Rockwell holds a large place in my world, but I discovered I knew very little about him. Recently, author Elizabeth Hand visited Maine College of Art while writing a review of a book about Rockwell. She asked us what we thought of such a ubiquitous icon in the field of illustration. He is...
Read Morestudio tour
I’m always curious about illustrators’ studios. We work tucked away with our supplies, books, and collectibles, the sum of which never ceases to delight me. I brought my senior illustration students on a tour of local studios in Portland, Maine last week, beginning with Joe Rosshirt, who graduated from Maine College of Art in 2011 when my students were freshmen. He discussed how he got through the first months after graduation and his tips for hanging in there: always be working on your own thing. He brought out projects from senior year that informed his final portfolio. Joe...
Read Moreheron cottage retreat
Ever since I drew a heron for Susan Blackaby’s Nest, Nook & Cranny, I see them everywhere. I’ve spied them in the fog. My neighbor, Kathy Hanley, loves herons, too. She created one for her own deck. She and her husband, award-winning architect Will Winkelman, recently renovated the cottage they built on Peaks Island, dubbing it the Heron Cottage. For the first seven years of their marriage, they lived in this two-bedroom home while building a bigger house nearby to make room for a new family. It’s a marvelously secret spot, facing a pond protected by the Peaks Island...
Read Morecamden book fair by-the-sea
Location, location, location. The Camden Public Library has it in spades. Opened in 1928, this sumptuous library is a worthy destination among so many in beautiful Camden, Maine. Situated on a hill overlooking the harbor, the library has a loyal following, thanks to Amy Hand, their intrepid children’s librarian, who coordinated a swell group of children’s book creators. I was honored to be in such fine company. The Owl and Turtle Book Store was ready for us! On a gorgeous August Saturday, it’s true book lovers that show up to meet authors and illustrators. I had eager...
Read MoreHogan Camp history
As a kid, I heard much about the Hogan Camp in Nova Scotia but it was a remote place of my imagination. My parents ran a motel in New Hampshire and were too busy to go in the summer, but it had been my father’s family summer destination. Built in 1934 by my grandfather, Roland Bell Hogan, the place is situated on Indian Point in Young’s Cove facing the Bay of Fundy, home of the highest tides in the world. His grandfather, Patrick Hogan, immigrated from Belfast, Ireland in the early 1800’s, perhaps as a veteran of the British army after the War of 1812. Settled in...
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