Hello all,

I came across my photo album of Prouts Neck, Main where artist Winslow Homer had his famous seaside studio (converted by John Calvin Stevens into a studio from father's barn in 1883). I befriended the Homer family that was left including Charlie, Doris and others. I was friends with Winslow's Nephew's second wife Doris, who  lived at the Neck and was caretaker of the studio, which at that time operated on the honor system. I recall being given a personal tour of the studio, and Doris opened up closed rooms for me. The studio has since been sold to the Portland Museum, and Doris has died. She lived to 99. I would call her at her last home Piper Shores for lively conversation about the Neck. She was the major if mot only Realtor for the Neck with its private $$$$$$$ homes. 

I asked her to sign two postcards for me which show the studio on the Reverse. When I assembled the photo album I thought I liked the personalized one - but now am unsure after switching them out to see. 

Which would you choose and why? Thank you!

Here is one of my old paintings of the Neck. Homer's studio would be a few hundred feet behind and up on your left about 300 feet to the Marginal Path which goes all around the Neck.  Since I painted this scene, the WW2 Coastal Observation tower has been demolished.

This true mahogany panel is 3 inches x 9 inches and I achieved the painting with a single brush (mongoose round #1) in a single night with a very limited palette of lead white, ultramarine , green earth, red ocher, yellow ocher, umber, and ivory black. The warm browns are actually the mahogany showing through up on the left in the trees and along the path. I hope you like it :-) This high quality paint made with cold pressed Baltic linseed oil has the absolute minimum of oil, so there is no real danger from not priming the wood. And with the lead white added in mixtures, the siccative effect had the paint drying so quickly I could do some drybrush by midnight. I started after dinner.

Below it a post-Covid oil on copper work, digitally scanned and transferred to a printed image baked onto an aluminum panel. It will never fade and can be cleaned with acetone or left outside a 0 degrees. My work is obviously changing. New work is being made now.

The original oil on copper oil was 3 inches square. The metal print is 12 x 12.