Drawing in conté crayon, charcoal, ink, graphite, lithographic pencil, and vinylic emulsion on rag paper,

22 x 15 inches (55.88 x 38.10 cm)

This drawing — part of series inspired by the landscape of Deer Isle ME — depicts a favorite destination: Sand Beach Preserve in West Stonington. This is a magical location that seems like an entirely different place every time I visit. Depending on the time of day, the quality of light, or the state of the tide, it is utterly transformed.

This it the first place I want to go when I arrive on Deer Isle, and the last place I visit before I depart.

The winter storms along the coast of downeast Maine are fierce. The strong winds often uproot trees — especially those near the water with shallow roots due to the impenetrable shelves of granite beneath them. Several times while walking through the woods on a windy day I have felt the ground beneath my feet rise and fall with the swaying of the trees, which is a most unsettling experience. Every spring, the fragility of the this ecosystem is displayed in a tangle of roots and branches where trees that had been growing stong and upright for decades were toppled in an instant and hang diagonally on the branches of their neighbors. Yet, these destructive upsets open the canopy to sunlight and allow new saplings the opportunity to take their place, and so the cycle of growth and decay begins anew.