It’s not as if I haven’t been to Maine countless times: with my whole family, with friends, with just my mom, on my own - almost all iterations have taken place over the last couple decades. It’s also not even as if I haven’t been to some of these places before, especially in and around Portland and Acadia. But never-the-less, every trip seems to give me a bit of fresh perspective, and this time I was with beautiful friends, and setting out with an intention of carving space for not only laughter and nature, but also beautiful day plein air paintings (something I’ve been trying my best to do more of, more consistently).
We made the most of a quick camping trip on Deer Isle, soaking up the sun at Sand Beach, hiking out to Barred Island for a low tide sunset, cooking on a fire shielded from the rain by a canopy of pine trees, and falling asleep under the stars.
From Deer Isle we headed North to Acadia, visiting my favorite Thuya Garden (slipping in through an open gate at the advice of another visitor, after realizing the gardens were closed for the day) and dipping toes in the freezing Atlantic before taking a warmer swim in Little Long Pond. It’s a magical place, Maine.
While Portland provided less opportunities for painting, it was no less magical. Whoever said artists ought to isolate for creativity to take hold left out the part where community and love builds up said creativity in the first place. We shared too many delicious meals to count, took a ferry to an incredibly special outdoor concert by the sea, and explored Portland’s beaches with our canine sidekick, Wolfie.
