Artists and Lobsters – On the Road with Don and Paula

It’s probably a good bet that most of us enjoy traveling.

Some folks do resist leaving their familiar environs and need to be pried from their home turf with a dory oar, but by and large, when placed in a place of enchantment, even they have to admit that there’s something about seeing someplace new and exciting (?)

I used the question mark there on purpose.

Because not every place that we visit can be labeled “exciting” now can it?

Sometimes we visit places that are just plain old satisfying, and if that’s all we get, then that’s fine too.

If you smell a caveat coming with all of this build-up being thrown at you, you would be:

1.) Correct

2.) Have been reading this Blog from its Beginning several years ago!

We are still in the middle of our Swing Through New England and Visit the Relatives Tour. And that suits us just fine. Currently we are in Maine visiting Paula’s son Brian and his wife April. They live just a tad west of the capital of Augusta, out in the Woods and Lakes Country, which is most of what Maine is made up of.

In Rockland, on the coast of Maine having lunch!

Mosquitos are the main inhabitants of this region, which makes me crazy. I am known throughout the Entomology World; they affectionately call me the Mosquito Munching Magnet. They peer through the windows of whatever vehicle or building that I am in, impatiently waiting for me to exit and run for my life until I reach the safety of the next enclosure. These flying buzz-saws rely on my annual visit to this area to ingest enough of my O+ Blood to last them the entire year.

Needless to say, I am burdened (and by proximity, anyone that I’m with) by this malaise and turn to the only remedy that is currently available to me here and that is, Take a Trip To The Maine Coast!

So, now we’re back to the Traveling Portion of this entry.

For those of you that have never been to the Coast of Maine, drop what you are doing and get over here! This is one example of a region of our Nation that I am not afraid of throwing superlatives at! I harbor no fears that I can build this area up to the point of when you visit, you experience any sort of Over Promising / Under Delivering!

So Don, where exactly does this caveat of yours fit into this?

I’m glad you asked that, Mr. Art Appreciation 101!

First, we will need to jump into Mr. Peabody’s Way-Back Machine (with his assistant Sherman) and go back just one year. If you will recall in that episode our Traveling Nerd was all excited because a visit to The Farnsworth Art Museum, located in the charming seaport of Rockland, Maine was on the Itinerary. This repository of mostly local Art, with an extremely high emphasis on the Wyeth family. It is one of the Holy Grails and Grand Temples dedicated to N.C. Wyeth and his family, namely his son Andrew and his grandson, Jamie.

But alas, upon entering said facility, where his absolutely most favoritest painting in the world is housed, they informed him that due to Covid-Related Staffing Issues, the floor that this painting, which is entitled Her Room, was closed.

So, why this painting Don?

I’m glad you asked that one Ms. Inquiring Minds Want to Know!

(Content Alert! This is where the Boring Part gets injected into the Blog)

We all experience art every single day of our lives. It may be just an illustration for a product in a magazine, or some framed something on our neighbors wall, or by choice, Art for Art’s sake, a deliberately sketched, drawn, or painted piece of work.

And we all react to these individual examples whether we know it or not. When we visit a gallery, museum of any place that exhibits artwork, we instantly become critics, because that’s what we do.

And that’s OK.

Because we are allowed to like or dislike something without having to explain to anyone our choices. It’s our own opinion.

“I hate Modern Art!”

“I don’t see anything worthwhile in a Still Life!”

“If it’s not an Oil, I’m not interested!”

All of these statements can stand on their own because everyone is entitled to their opinions. I never really understood art. It was always just something that I looked at and either immediately liked or disliked. No one ever (or I never gave anyone the chance to) explain anything about it to me.

Until.

Until a visit to the National Gallery in London, where I went with another person who was an Art Major. We toured this incredible museum with those little headphones on which explained stuff to me.

“Oh, I get it! That’s what’s going on in this painting!”

And that led to an understanding that Art is an expression of the Artist. An extension of what was going on at the time in their lives, the world, or anything else that may influence a particular work. We have to admit though, that not every work of art has a deep-rooted meaning behind it. When one picks up a brush and replicates a simple scene, I doubt that in years to come that someone else will stare at that piece of art and say, “Ahh, that has to be a ‘Don Hall’, I’m sure that it’s from his ‘Bug Period’, notice his anguish and torment from mosquitoes. It is quite obvious in this piece.”

Or something like that.

In my case, it was right here on the Coast of Maine that my Epiphany was realized. The Wyeth family had a home here in the nifty little coastal village of Port Clyde. (You may remember those little cans of Port Clyde Sardines in the grocery store). I had in the past spent some time in Port Clyde courtesy of a friend (the same one that I went to the Gallery in London with) whose family had one of those incredibly quaint seaside cottages that are the perfect sets for a movie. It was that good!

So, an interest in “local” stuff was kindled. I was vaguely familiar with the Wyeth family and their artwork, and you are too, whether you know it or not. I will prove this to you now.

Here is an example of N.C.’s work. He was more of an ‘illustrator”. This example is from “*Kidnapped”*. N.C. illustrated may a book of adventure.

This is also an N.C. work. It is a scene painted up on the hills overlooking Port Clyde. You can see the cannery in the background. Those ‘billowing’ sheets are an example of how he treated ‘clouds’ in many of his illustrations.

Note ‘clouds’ in this painting of Pirates!

This is “Christina’s World” by Andrew Wyeth, easily his most famous painting. Andrew spent the better part of twenty years painting the home of Christina, her brother Alvano, and their farm. By the way, Christina was actually an elderly crippled lady when this was painted. She had lived here her entire life.

See! I told you so!

Anyway, for me, having experienced this part of Maine with its incredible coastline, infinite tree-lined islands, and cozy harbors, I was primed for an experience that I did not know that I was going to have, or know that I needed.

That experience was the painting of Andrew Wyeth entitled, Her Room.

The back story;

It was on July 20^th, 1963. There was a Total Eclipse of the Sun, and its shadow was cast across the planet with the ‘Down East’ region of Maine directly in its path. Andrew and his wife Betsy lived in a home on the banks of the St. George River in Cushing. The St. George is an arm of the sea projecting itself into an already crannied coastline. The day was obviously ominous during the Event, which only added to the parent’s concern as their children were out on a boat somewhere on the river and it was getting late. Andrew and Betsy were startled when a sudden gust of wind slammed open the door of the cottage frightening them. This event steeled itself in Andrew’s Mind’s Eye and the rest is history.

This is the painting, *Her Room*. the *Her* is a reference to Andrew’s wife Betsy. It was her room for decorating, exampled by the sequence of shells on the windowsill, the sea chest, and the pinkish curtains. Please note the use of the late-day ominous light splayed across the door when it slammed open. Note the emptiness and lack of activity of the St. George River beyond.

For me, the first time that I saw this painting, my throat tightened, and I didn’t know why. The scene was obviously somewhat familiar to me, as Cushing is right around the corner from Port Clyde. But what else happened to me? What chord did this two-dimensional replication of an event strike in me?

Probably the most significant aspect of this painting

This was my Epiphany. This is when I realized that an artist, through the interpretation of their experience, using their skills, could transport someone into their mind and by extension, into that scene.

I’m sure by now that you can see that a little knowledge is dangerous! 😊

On to more Art In New England!

Have you ever heard of Edward Hopper?

Well, we just left Cape Ann in Massachusetts where there was an exhibit of his works being presented by the Cape Ann Museum. He had spent many a summer there in the early 1900’s. Unfortunately for me, the only time that I had available to visit was on Monday and they were closed on Mondays.

Oh well.

But! Upon this year’s visit to The Farnsworth, I learned that there was a Double Exhibit (!) going on that was showing the combined works of Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper! They both had spent time here and accordingly painted some of the same scenes almost thirty years apart. Mr. Hopper was there in the 20’s while Mr. Wyeth lived here in the 40’s and 50’s.

Here is an example of Edward Hopper’s work. It is a harborside scene in Rockland, painted from the deck of an abandoned schooner.

Basically, the same scene thirty years later by Andrew Wyeth. Note the schooner is no longer there, and obviously two vastly different styles.

This is a better example of Hopper’s style. You may have seen some of his works without even knowing who the artist was.

Yay!!!!

I get to have my cake and eat it too!

Now, I know that you’re all asking, “Who in the name of St. Watercolor is Edward Hopper?

Once again, I will show you that you are familiar with at least one piece of his collection.

I’m sure that you are somewhat familiar with this work. Even if it’s a more modern pirated example showing Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Frank Sinatra, or Elvis Presley as some of the characters.

See! Told you again!

By now either I’ve bored you to tears or you’ve managed to hack your way through this post and have already booked your trip to this part of Maine. You do not have to visit any Art Museums whilst you are here. Nor do you need to poke your heads into any of the numerous Galleries that dot the streets of these little towns.

But either way, I predict somewhat of a life-altering experience….. if you just let it happen.

See you down by the lighthouse.

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