In April 2024 I was in Chestertown, Maryland for a plein air event with my wife Karen. We were painting at the bank of the Chester River where the Soltano sailing ship was taking children up and down the river as part of a field trip. 
 
I had never painted a boat before and thought that Iearning to paint them would be lots of fun.  The Soltano had captured my imagination and motivated me to paint nautical scenes. It's only fitting since we live on Kent Island. We are very literally surrounded by water, so paint what you know, right?