The Story of Cornered | A Vibrant Lobster on Canvas

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As one of my In Their World series, “Cornered” (affectionately known as Larry) was puzzling to approach due to the lack of inspiration. Vivid underwater photography is scarce in these parts. Maybe not in Key West, where cerulean waters provide snorkeling tourists ample moments to snap photos of spiny lobsters. But in Maine, the stoic Homarus Americanus bimbles around murky colder northern waters and mostly at night. A pein air study of an American Lobster / Northern Lobster / Maine Lobster / Massachusetts Lobster / Canadian Lobster (naming seems to be more of a human problem than the lobster’s) wasn’t going to work. Looking around lobster art is abundant as abstract, pop, cartoon, and of course, within a buttered bun. Even as bright red keychains on Maine street to fun wall art from one of my local artists, Ack Me, just down the road on the gallery/studio trail in Freeport, Maine.

I was compelled to depict Larry in his natural environment.

If one finds a lack of crustacean images in the Gulf of Maine now, it will be even more so in another decade. The sea surface temperatures of the Gulf of Maine as of 2022 earned the distinct and not-so-coveted title of one of the fastest-warming ocean regions on the planet. The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 97% of the world’s ocean surface.

“Cornered” as a title is less about a food source and more about the environment. The environment for the lobster and the people of Maine. As I painted, I became fascinated. If the story was not about Larry, but Laura, she might share these facts from NOAA Fisheries:

• A freshly laid lobster egg is the size of the head of a pin (1/16").

• A 1-pound female lobster usually carries approximately 8000 eggs.

• A 9-pound female may carry more than 100,000 eggs.

• The female lobster carries the eggs inside for 9 to 12 months and then for another 9 to 12 months attached to the swimmerets under her tail.

• When the eggs hatch, the larvae will float near the surface for 4 to 6 weeks.

• The few that survive will settle to the bottom and continue to develop as baby lobsters. From every 50,000 eggs, only two lobsters are expected to survive to legal size.

• Lobster babies swim at the water's surface for 25 days. Only one percent make it to the bottom. These young lobsters shed their shells about ten times in their first year. A near-shore lobster has a 90 percent chance of ending up on someone's dinner plate.

My Oil Painting Process

Developing this series brought me to two different challenges.

The first is how to use reduced value to communicate the stillness and depict the lobster wedged into rocks for safety. Cornered as a lobster does, claw caught by the light, waiting patiently. In creating this piece, the fewer values the better, for storytelling - which creates cohesiveness, and emotion. Everything is connected through its color family. I like this. Everything is connected. Everything is connected.

The second? As rare as spotting a lobster is in our cold waterways, it is also rare to find art depicting a non-graphic lobster. Could the use of color turn this bottom crawler into an engaging visual? Can something that normally creates ‘ewwwwws’ create curiosity through art? That is up to the viewer. What do you say?

Where to Learn about Lobsters in Maine

Here is where you might expect my answer to the inquiry “Where is the best place to get a lobster roll in Maine?” Maybe a list of the hole-in-the-wall lobster shacks, just off the piers in coastal towns. Staying true to my heart, it is more exciting to learn about lobsters when visiting.

• Gulf of Maine Research Institute - Scan their educational events, lectures, and commitments. You might be surprised at how expansive the “Gulf of Maine” really is!

• Friends of Casco Bay One of my favorite nonprofits working with local community members to monitor and study Casco Bay. Residents can volunteer to help report and the Friends of Casco Bay is also taking on key topics like PFAS in our waterways.

• Seacoast Tours of Freeport : Always a local sell-out, Seacoast Tours offers a Lobstering Demo and Wildlife Cruise to learn about Maine’s iconic lobsters, and watch for seals, shore birds, and other marine wildlife while winding through the islands of Casco Bay.