Maine - Audubon Camp on Hog Island, Monhegan Island

In September 2016 - just a couple weeks before Lily was diagnosed with her relapse - Ron and I flew to Niagara Falls for a couple days, and then to Porland, Maine where we stayed a couple nights at a B&B in Damariscotta, Maine, and then spent a week on Hog Island which is an Audubon Camp.  We were there for the week of "Fall Migration and Monhegan" which was led by Scott Weidensaul.  We had met Scott at Camp Denali in Alaska in June 2016 when we were there for our Alaska trip with Lily and Sophie.  He led birding trips there, too.  He told us about Hog Island, and we were interested.

Ron has been a birder every since he was a little boy.  His Grandmother Pierce was very much into identifying birds.  Ron helped her with catching and banding birds, they kept a bird identification book near at hand and spent lots of time each day observing the birds at their many bird feeders and identifying them.

That trip to Maine was the first time I'd ever been, and I was completely entranced with it.  I loved being at Hog Island.  I went on some of the birding hikes and trips, but I also stayed at our cabin (the Eider Room) and did some plein air painting.  That was before I learned about alla prima painting, and so I labored over each painting I did.  So I only completed one painting while we were there.

The scene across the bay from outside our cabin.

The Eider Room is one half of the back this cabin.  The other back half was the Guillemot Room.  The front half of the cabin was something else (don't recall the name)  The week we were there, we were the only ones in the entire building - and it was the last cabin.  So we had lots of privacy.  Very simple lodging in our room - two twin beds, a bathroom with shower, sink and toilet.  

A view of the Hog Island dock as we approached it after our day trip to Monhegan Island.

I found a photo I took of my work-in-progress painting.  You can see how I was set up to paint.  This was right outside our cabin - the Eider Room.

I had a great learning experience with that one painting.  After I finished it, I propped up the wet panel against the screen window in our room to dry. I painted in acrylics, and so it wasn't really wet - I just didn't want it to be ruined since the room didn't have much space and I thought propping it against the screen got it out of the way and kept it safe.  Ha! Was I wrong!  It rained that night.  When we awakened the next morning, I realized that the cardboard backing to the panel was wet and warped. Although the rain hadn't come through the screened window, the screen was wet enough that the cardboard apparently sucked in a lot of moisture. After getting home, I spent a lot of time trying to salvage the painting.  I finally took the canvas completely away from the backing.  However, it was ruined, and one day after I'd worked with it trying to get it to look right, I finally tossed it in the trash can.  It wasn't that great a painting anyway.

I had painted while sitting in a chair outside our cabin, looking out over the bay at the islands and ocean beyond.  I liked it because it reminded me of a special time, but it wasn't worth the time I'd already put into trying to save it.

As I was painting, one of the birding groups camp up and stopped near me as they looked at some birds in a nearby tree.  Some of the folks in the group came over and looked at my painting and we chatted about it.  Throughout the day other hikers/campers walked past me - and each one at least said hi - and most stopped and asked to see my painting and we talked. It was very pleasant.

I did my own hiking each day. Each time I hiked the long way from our cabin to the main camp area, I'd pass the Artist in Residence cabin.  Now THAT fascinated me.  As much as I enjoyed sitting outside our cabin and painting en plein air, I could just imagine spending a week or two doing that.  What luxury!  Nothing to do but concentrate on my painting.  No dishes, no laundry, no errands - just doing what makes me happy for awhile.  Very cool!

One of the most enjoyable days during my time at Hog Island was the day trip to Monhegan Island.

On Monhegan Island, we walked up to the lighthouse.  There were plein air artists everywhere.  This woman was painting the lighthouse.  Breathtaking beauty all around.  And the most delicious clam chowder at a little restaurant right off the dock. 

This is the Franklin Island Lighthouse.  We passed it on the way back from our Monhegan Island trip.  I painted this lighthouse because I loved it so much.  It's one of my favorite paintings.

This was a wedding at a lighthouse on the mainland. The two women who were getting married seemed oblivious to the tourists milling about. I thought it was a beautiful setting for a wedding, but not private at all with all the tourists visiting the lighthouse.  Interesting that some of the guests are standing and others are seated.  

Great photo of somewhere in Maine -I think off Hog Island.  I need to be sure to caption all photos immediately after a trip in order to remember where each photo was taken.  

This photo and the next two are beautiful photos, but I'm not sure where in Maine they were taken.  See lesson learned in previous photo caption.  

Maine lighthouses fascinated me.  We visited at least five of them.  I hope to return to Maine to do a lighthouse tour one day.  I'd love to paint them all.

One of my favorite photos - a sunset on Hog Island.