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W
hen it comes to seascape or marine
paintings, there are no prerequisites
for the artists, as Roger Dale Brown makes
abundantly clear. “As much as I love the
ocean, ships, working boats, the marsh and
quaint towns of the coast, I do not sail [and]
I have no boat. I love to fish but rarely get a
chance and I really do not like seafood,” he
says. “With that said, there is rarely a place
I would rather be than along the coast.”
Brown’s new ocean and boat paintings
will be part of a new show, Around Town,
opening August 22 at Gleason Fine Art
in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Works in
the show include spectacular views from
beaches and rocky shores, as well as harbor
scenes full of docked boats with bare masts
stretching into blue skies.
“I intentionally painted these sceneswith more mood, focusing on more inti-
mate scenes for the most part. ‘Intimate’
meaning scenes of a specific object or
type of light—the light that happens in the
early morning or late afternoon,” he says.
“I have a personal connection with scenes
like this. For me it is a more spiritual way
of approaching a painting. That’s not to
say all types of light and subject are not
spiritual. The further along I get in my art
journey, the more these types of subjects
and lighting conditions intrigue me.”
The show will include Mooring at
Noon and Quiet Time, both of which
show sailing boats ready and waiting for
captains to hoist the sails and cast off on
a new journey out to sea. Other images
feature more blue-collar scenes. “There is
an element of intrigue with the working-class fisherman and folks that make
a living with the sea. That’s what I’m
really interested in,” Brown says. “I want
to capture the essence of life on the sea.
When I go to an area I really try to take in
the culture and mood. I want to visit the
places the locals visit, experience their
everyday life, understand life on boats,
smell the sea, touch the side of a hull or
old boat house. Anything I can do to gain
understanding of that area. If I’m attuned
to my surroundings, then I am better able
to be attuned with my painting and the
mood I want to present.”
It’s almost cliché at this point, but it’s still
true for many people, Brown included: The
ocean calls to people. It has an unmistak-
able attraction, and not just to people on
its shores, but to those far inland in the
densest forests and on the tallest peaks.
The ocean has its own gravity that pulls
people to it.
“I think scenes and places along the
coast, especially the old working boats
and quaint towns that have such historic
architecture, old docks, the smell of fish
and the salt in the air gives us a scene of
nostalgia and longing to be around it. It
takes us to a time that was simpler in a
way. There wasn’t the stress of our fast-
paced society that we face in this modern
world. It was a hard time as far as hard
work, but people back then knew what was
wrong and right. They knew that if they
worked hard they could survive and did
not expect anything more. I think people
innately want that. I think marine paint-UPCOMING SHOW PREVIEW / GLEASON FINE ART
8/22-9/17 Boothbay Harbor, MEROGER DALE BROWNThe Secret Sea
2 31
1
Tip of Pemaquid, oil
on canvas, 24 x 50"
2
Ocean Gulls, oil on
canvas, 20 x 24"
3
Downward View, oil
on canvas, 36 x 60"
4
Quiet Time, oil on
canvas, 36 x 28"