What is the appeal of lighthouses? Their physical appearance and location is
aesthetically appealing. But there is more to it than that. I served for a
time as a navigator on a Navy destroyer. The faint light of a lighthouse on a
distant shore was a welcome sight. Not only did it confirm my position---it
also offered the promise of home, friends, and family soon to be seen again.
Lighthouses seem to awaken nostalgic feelings in many---and that is why so many
lighthouses are being refurbished despite the fact that their great lights have
been extinguished or dimmed forever. |
PEGGY'S COVE LIGHTOUSE, NOVA SCOTIA
Much
praise has been heaped on Peggy's Cove---and it is deserved. The
lighthouse is graceful in form, and the smooth granite rocks on which it
sits are dramatic to say the least. Not showing on the painting are the
hoards of tourists scrambling over these dramatic rocks. Artist's
license!
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POINT ABINO LIGHTHOUSE, LAKE ERIE, CANADA
A friend
has a summer home nearby. This handsome lighthouse is beginning to look
a bit tired and in need of paint. The good news is the fact that it has
been purchased by the nearby town and will become a tourist attraction,
guaranteeing its survival. The bad news is that it is located on the
property of a "gated" community reportedly not happy about its future as
a public attraction. A lighthouse caught between conflicting interests.
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TYBEE ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE, SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
We camped nearby this
graceful lighthouse---now restored and a museum like so many of her
sisters. The lighthouse is especially attractive because if its
tapering base.
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OLD POINT COMFORT LIGHTHOUSE, VIRGINIA
This
lighthouse was built in 1802 and is the oldest structure on Fort Monroe,
the entrance to Hampton Roads, Virginia. It stood here for a half
century before the battle of the Monitor and Merrimac. I painted this
from the top of the fort, looking toward the entrance to Hampton Roads.
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OLD POINT COMFORT
II
I enjoy
painting the same subject from a different point of view. This was
painted on a hot summer day with a group of fellow painters. Each of us
spent ten minutes looking for the right perspective---and all of us
ended up under the same shade tree seeking protection from the fierce
Tidewater sun!
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PEMAQUID POINT LIGHTHOUSE, MAINE
I imagine
every artist has a favorite "motif." This is mine. Paintings of Pemaquid lighthouse appear elsewhere on this website. The Japanese
artist Hokusai painted Mount Fuji dozens of times. I could do the same
with Pemaquid lighthouse!
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PEMAQUID POINT LIGHTHOUSE II
The
preceding painting was done in the morning. In the afternoon when the
light had shifted, I did this sketch from the opposite side of the
lighthouse---showing the keeper's house to the left. That house is now a
little museum.
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PEMAQUID POINT LIGHTHOUSE III
Artist's Collection
The picturesque Maine lighthouse which is famed for its
location on a rocky promontory.
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MONHEGAN LIGHTHOUSE, MAINE
A short boat ride is
necessary to gain access to Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine.
In the
late morning we hiked across the island where I did a small watercolor
of the dramatic coast. In the hour before our boat ride back to New
Harbor in the afternoon, I painted the Monhegan light, which sits high
on the island.
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LIGHTHOUSE, STONINGTON VILLAGE, CONNECTICUT
Stonington
Village is a delightful old town near the extreme eastern shoreline of
Connecticut. The streets are lined with many handsome old homes marked
with plaques identifying former famous occupants. I painted this little
stone lighthouse on a cold winter's day, huddled against a stone wall
for some protection from the chilling wind.
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ST. AUGUSTINE LIGHTHOUSE, FLORIDA
This handsome lighthouse, now
beautifully restored and maintained, is a major tourist attraction in
St. Augustine. However, it is difficult to get a good, unobstructed
view of the lighthouse. I recall sitting in a driveway in peril of
incoming careless drivers. So I worked fast and nervously!
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POINT LOMA LIGHTHOUSE, SAN
DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
This wonderful lighthouse
sits on a dramatic hillside overlooking the entrance to San Diego
harbor. Ironically, it is too high up to be useful! Fog often obscured
the light, so another lighthouse was built nearby at sea level, and has
become the active lighthouse for the harbor.
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