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"Painting landscapes or personal portraits in oils, acrylics, and pastels; assures the atmospheric conditions of that time and place. My spirit for the finished piece is seeing that momentary perspective or personality captured during the setting while working at the location. The reward is just possibly capturing that time in one's history"

“The painting is on display at the Department of Labor Building, University of Maine, Orono, Maine.”

Years ago while living in Maine, I entered a statewide art contest.  Being relatively new to the art world, I guess I didn’t think of the enormity of the project.  I was overcome with the, “I’ve nothing to lose syndrome.”  Well, I won!

I won the opportunity to depict the lives of Maine’s Working Men and Women in a six foot oil painting. I was commissioned by the Department of Labor to spend the next year developing the work.  I visited factories throughout New England, talked with assembly-line workers, researched spinning mill histories at libraries, and hovered over volumes of historical archives describing child labor laws.  (Did you know that before laws were established, children and women worked 10 to 12 hours a day in the factory?  The isles fit to their smaller size so more weaving looms could be put in place!)

I was invited to paint at a local spinning mill to reflect current conditions.  On their break, workers would visit with me, tell their stories and thank me for the exposure. 

Bit by bit, the drawings were sketched and the watercolors turned into the documentary I envisioned.  After 10 months of work the painting was finished.

Later that year, The Labor Department held a news conference and reception where the painting was unveiled. The work now hangs at the University of Maine’s permanent gallery. 

All along the way, I photo documented the process.  I sanded the wood stretcher bars that framed the canvas and held open studio visits with factory workers so they could watch the painting develop.  Speaking engagements were arranged in many communities for me to talk of the experience and share the materials I was collecting.  The process was so much more than creating a painting.  I believe it was giving recognition to the loyalty and dedication that so many people give on a grassroots level to their employers and communities.

What a delightful experience. To this day I am filled with wonder that this one idea provided such a chance reward.