For many years, portraiture has been at the center of my practice. Painting people allowed me to explore the human spirit, in the visual form. In this new body of watercolor work, Maine: People / Places / Things, I have stepped away from the singular focus of portraiture and opened my work to the broader world around me. This shift has given me the freedom to experiment and rediscover my curiosity and love for painting.

For the first time in my work, I am consciously embracing my home state as both subject and influence. The color blue has become central to the palette, reflecting the shifting moods of water and atmosphere that define the Maine landscape.

This series also weaves together fragments of memory. A tea towel I purchased years ago while living in California appears as a recurring motif throughout the series. By incorporating it into these paintings, I create a quiet dialogue between past and present, where I have been and where I now call home. Nostalgia surfaces in other ways as well: blueberries and strawberries appear often, recalling the northern Maine woods I explored as a child.

Working in watercolor combined with pen and ink allows me to balance looseness with structure. I am fascinated by composition and by the subtle effects that emerge when fluid washes meet deliberate bold lines. In this series, I have given myself permission to play, to experiment, and to follow intuition rather than expectation. That openness has been both freeing and illuminating.

Maine: People / Places / Things is ultimately about noticing and honoring the small, meaningful details that shape a life in a particular place. Through these paintings, I explore how memory, landscape, and everyday objects intertwine, creating a visual language that reflects both my history and my present moment.

All images below are currently on display at York Hospital in York, Maine.