A decade ago, Scottish painter Peter Davies painted two famous paintings “The Hot One Hundred” and “The Hip One Hundred.” Both paintings are simply colorful lists of important artists. Alex Katz made both paintings. He was No. 90 on “The Hot One Hundred,” but he was No. 4 on “The Hip One Hundred.” Since the […]
It was difficult, perhaps the most difficult thing, to be without a common language. I have always said that being in Iceland gave me perspective and I think that related to many aspects of life. I could easily relate now to the many who travel to a new country, looking for work, unable to speak […]
I had hitchhiked out there with Jane. We had started in Reykjavik, looking for work, but we were told there were no jobs to be found at all. The herring had gone and Iceland was in a depression as a result. My only contact, Peter Knuttson, a Brit who lived marginally in Reykjavik and somehow […]
The Maine art community, myself included, never really appreciated painter Rackstraw Downes when he was a seasonal resident of the state. Though he had a summer home in rural Morrill from the 1960s until fairly recently, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Rackstraw Downes show in Maine. Now that Downes, a New York City […]
For the next few blogs, I’ll be writing about Iceland, which is, to me, the most fascinating country on earth. I hope you will agree. In June of 1969, when I was twenty years old, I traveled to Iceland and found work on a farm called Frodastadir (Froe-tha-stah-theer) herding sheep on horseback, milking cows, shoveling […]
It’s a good thing I like to travel; I live part-time in Boston and part-time in New Hampshire. Come summer, I try to escape on the weekends. Throw in an assignment or appearance and my life is a suitcase on wheels. Over the Fourth we were asked to be on the Today show, and who […]
Working on an offshore oil rig is a demanding and dangerous profession. Author Scott Cramer signed on as a roustabout on a rig exploring the Baltimore canyon. Here is his report. From Yankee Magazine April 1981 The round-trip fare is $50.95. as I board the bus in Providence I try to remember what I accomplished during […]
Photographers love subcultures. Show me an identifiable subculture – gypsies, migrant workers, drug addicts, strippers, veterans, artists, musicians, skateboarders, fishermen, homeless people – and I’m pretty sure I can find a photographer who has documented their way of life. Surfers have been photographed so long and so often that surfing photographers themselves have become something […]
How New England Can Save the World, Part III in a series Part I: The Maine Way: Aroostook County Part II: Vermont Neighbors Part IIII: A Bang for Your Buck in the Berkshires When you think of Vermont–white church on the tidy green–you’re not actually thinking of Hardwick, which in its days as the “Building […]
Nobody knows better than a Maine chef how to create delicious and affordable lobster dishes.
If necessity is the mother of invention, what gives birth to reinvention? Is it dire necessity? A quest for perfection? Or a deeply personal conviction? Whatever the case, scrapping something back to its beginnings and re-creating it is a monumental task. Don’t ask me how, at the age of 43, Wallace Nutting had the energy […]
Ever wondered what it’s like to live cheaply for a month and to paddle 325 miles in a kayak? Try the Maine Island Trail.
