OK, so I lied

Rising Tide at Wadsworth Cove, 12X16, oil on canvas.

Rising Tide at Wadsworth Cove, 12X16, oil on canvas, Carol L. Douglas

Remember when I said working artists aren’t party animals? OK, so I lied. Yesterday was the start of the best party of the year, the 2015 Castine Plein Air Festival. The festival opens with an open-air reception on the wraparound porch of the beautiful, historic Castine Inn. Built in 1898, the Inn is a block from the Public Landing, and the harbor is visible from the porch. I know a third of the artists and many of the festival supporters.

I’d intended to photograph them chatting and eating crabcakes and fruit tarts and drinking wine in the lovely summer evening light. However, I was having so much fun, I forgot the camera slung around my neck. Castine 1 1

Castine is home to the Maine Maritime Academy. In 2015, this engineering school was rated one of the best values among American public colleges by Money Magazine. Not only can a kid get a cost-effective education, he can do it in picturesque and historic location.

MMA’s training ship State of Maine is usually at its pier next to the Public Landing. As beautiful as this ship is, it fills the horizon looking south toward Holbrook Island Preserve and Cape Rosier. It is out on a 90-day training mission right now, so I intend to use its absence to paint a view I’ve never seen before.

The training ship State of Maine at its pier. It's not there this year.

The training ship State of Maine at its pier. It’s not there this year.

The Public Landing, the Town Square with its lovely clapboard buildings and elegant Witherle Memorial Library, the United States’ oldest post office in continuous operation (since 1814), Wadsworth Cove at sunset, the British Canal, charming Main Street—once again, I have more on my to-do list than I can possibly paint in a short amount of time.

Castine from Fort George, 1856, by Fitz Henry Lane. Castine has a 400-year European history.

Castine from Fort George, 1856, by Fitz Henry Lane. Castine has a 400-year European history.

But I have to be at the Town Square in half an hour to have my boards stamped. Enough of this dreaming; it’s time to work! Let me know if you’re interested in painting with me on the Schoodic Peninsula in beautiful Acadia National Park in August 2015. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops! Download a brochure here.

Carol Douglas

About Carol Douglas

Carol L. Douglas is a painter who lives, works and teaches in Rockport, ME. Her annual workshop will again be held on the Schoodic Peninsula in beautiful Acadia National Park, from August 6-11, 2017. Visit www.watch-me-paint.com/ for more information.