We Choose To Sail On

On our own

tossed around 

in waves

going down

But we choose
not to lose

to plug leaks
to sail on

Sailing On • 8" x 6" pen & ink and watercolor on cut paper • $200

Regatta

It will officially be autumn the next time I post. I am a skier, so autumn is when I live the expectation only skiers and kids understand - the excitement of spotting the first snowflake and the pure joy of thinking about a good ski season up in Maine's mountains. Although it is one of my favorite times of the year with the color and the melodies (Autumn in New York - one of my all time favorites),  I generally carry just a thimble full of regret to see summer go. After all, I am a sailor, swimmer and wannabe surfer too.

This painting is a slightly weightier nod back to summer. It is inspired by the regattas we'd run into and sometimes sail through while  cruising off the coast of Maine. Although our little boat generally doesn't even hold its own with a sea kayak (unless we're reaching, of course, at which point we become a lean, mean racing machine - sort of), we still have fun thinking we're in the hunt. And so does the Claudia.  We can feel her smile.

Regatta • 8" x 8" acrylic framed to 12" x 12" • $200

claudia diller: Sailing Through The Reach

claudia diller: Sailing Through The Reach: We were sailing in a light breeze to Hurricane Sound by way of The Reach on a hot, hazy morning a few weeks ago, when we caught sight of t...

Sailing Through The Reach

We were sailing in a light breeze to Hurricane Sound by way of The Reach on a hot, hazy morning a few weeks ago, when we caught sight of this old International 600 making her way along behind us.

She's a charter hailing from Bar Harbor. We had pulled up alongside her in Carver's Harbor earlier that morning to ask about the cost of chartering her. At a couple of thousand a week - she was a little over our heads, but in the meantime the skipper was in need of a shackle. So Tom searched through a box of "stuff" he kept tucked aboard.

The box of "stuff" was a greatly reduced version of the original stash which had grown into an on-board tool shed over the years. I had suggested Tom clean it out at the beginning of the season - I mean how many shackles do you need anyway! You never know, he replied as he sadly discarded the larger toolbox and transferred bare necessities into a new and more compact version. While the skipper said not to worry and that his crew was ashore on a search and find mission, I couldn't help thinking that if I had not insisted Tom clean out his tool box, we probably would have had the right piece.

It was evident, as we watched this old beauty ghost along, that the skipper had found the part he needed. Tom, the gentleman that he is, held back with all of the strength he could muster and never did say, I told you so.

Sailing Through The Reach • 8" x 8" acrylic framed to 12" x 12" • $200

Stormy Sky

I don't know about your neck of the woods, but I've seen some astounding cloud displays this summer. A lot of them are to the west, north and east of us here in Portland. When I'm out for my evening walk I will catch one now and again.  Though I generally don't paint skies, some of these are worthy of documentation - I can't make this stuff up.

A lot of times me and fellow storm watchers will track electrical storms from the park just up the road on North Street. The park looks out over the city, the airport and Mt. Washington. The storms will sometimes cross west of us so we can watch the light show without getting hit, though I must say that watching without threat does take some of the drama out of the whole thing. Isn't there a part of us all that is mesmerized by the brute force of nature and still hold within our bodies an addiction to a good adrenaline rush?

I caught this action off the Eastern Prom. There were no flashes and booms this time. It was just stunningly and simply beautiful.

Stormy Sky • 8" x 8" acrylic framed to 12" x 12" • $200