The Painted Light House

05/05/2025

I am trying to find an accurate color picture of the 1886 Annie C. Maguire shipwreck at the Portland Head Lighthouse I would appreciate it. If you know of any or have one would you please contact me? Thank you

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01/05/2025

Happy Mayday. Now there is a word that has several meanings. When I was in school it was a happy day, we all gathered around the “May Pole” and danced around it, remembering that you have to be old, I mean really old. Then as we became more aware of the Cold War we found out that the Soviet Union used “Mayday” as a time to march and show off their military might. Then later as I was in the military we used a mayday call as a distress call, a far cry from dancing around a pole in the schoolyard. Today, however, we celebrate Mayday as the beginning of Military Appreciation Month. That I can really get behind. As a veteran of Vietnam, I can speak from the heart and I salute all those who served and are currently serving this great nation to protect our freedoms. We must all realize nothing is free especially FREEdom, it must be fought for, not expected. I salute all who answered the call. I was a Service Officer with the American Legion and have spoken to many Vets, some of whom have told me of the guilt they feel for not having the opportunity to go into combat. My only answer to them is there is no guilt, you answered the call, you were ready, it was not your fault. My grandfather fought in WWI and the Spanish-American War, growing up I remember him talking about chasing Poncho Villa across the country. I was fascinated by his stories. My wife’s father was in the US Army 20th Armored Division, (he was a tank driver) in Patton’s Army as it liberated the Dachau concentration camp in Germany, it forever changed him. My own father was deaf in one ear and was unable to serve but worked in a defense plant, for the duration (Jacobs Aircraft). He too was so guilt-ridden he tried numerous times to enlist but was rejected each time. It forever changed him. Every generation has had to face conflict some greater than others, some faced it with more purpose than others but in the end, men and women died and as a nation, we must all stand up and say thank you to everyone who served.
Speaking of serving you know how much I love lighthouses well I have written about the duties, trials, and efforts of the lighthouse keepers who tended them over the many years. Well, we know that as time went on and things got more modern oil gave way to electricity and automation. As this happened the duties began to wain so many were replaced or just plain eliminated. When this happened, the untended lights were handed over to the US Coast Guard to maintain. They became the modern-day keepers of the lights and still are. My wife and I were at a party not too long ago and met a lady there whose husband is in the Coast Guard and is one of those who is tasked with tending several lighthouses. We had a great conversation. One of the funniest things that came out of this whole Coast Guard transition was when we did our New England trip we went to the Castle Hill Lighthouse, an interesting light, built on the side of a cliff, only the top third visible above the hill. I climbed down, but Jill did not, when I got to the base, I saw a “US Coast Guard Property Tag” (see photo below) the lighthouse had a number and everything. I could only imagine when the Coast Guard showed up one of the crew read the tag number to the crew at the light and they didn’t match. Someone must have switched lights on them and now they have to find the correct lighthouse, you know the one that belongs on that spot which has the correct property tag.
And finally, I am attaching a painting I just completed, it is of the Amelia Island Lighthouse. This is in North Florida near Fernandina Beach. For those of you who are John Grisham fans, he has several books about Camino Island, Camino Winds, and Camino Ghosts that use Amelia Island as his base for the locale. As a reminder, all my artwork is for sale, you may contact me by phone email, or messenger. If you ever have any questions about an article or input, please let me know.

27/04/2025

Good afternoon. It is Sunday afternoon here in sunny, dry Florida, and yes, it is getting to be hot. The humidity is still rather low, but it will change in an hour or so.
It is said that you can tell a lot about a person by the magazines they take in the mail. Me, for instance. I take Wooden Boat, I’ve always been drawn to building wooden boats, I have never done it – but I would love to. Vintage Motorsport, I love vintage cars plus I’ve raced cars for much of my life, then there is Lighthouse Keepers Log, which is sponsored by the US Lighthouse Society to which we belong then finally the Lighthouse Digest. As you have heard over the years as much as I enjoy painting I get as much joy from the research of the lighthouses I paint. With every lighthouse painting my clients receive a brochure with the history of that light. For years, I have used The Lighthouse Digest and The Keepers Log as some of my sources. The reason I bring this up is Tim Harrison, the founding editor of Lighthouse Digest passed away in August of 2023. Since that time the magazine was still being published but in April 2025 it was announced that the remaining staff could no longer continue to put out The Lighthouse Digest and it will go dark. A sad loss to all but a very gallant attempt to all who tried to carry on Tim’s work. Thank you!!!
As I had said in my last post, I took some time off but not totally I needed to do a 5x7 of a Sanibel Island, FL beach access behind the Casa Ybel Beach Resort and the Thistle Lodge. (It does not look like this right now as it was severely damaged by Hurricane Ian. They are working on the whole island to restore and bring it back to normalcy). So, attached is a photo of that little painting.
Enjoy and remember all my paintings are for sale plus if you would like something you don't see let me know.

15/04/2025

15/04/2025

Easter Week
Tuesday afternoon and I’m done for the week. WOW! Seldom can I actually say that but I am. I had two paintings to do, and I just completed them and due to the fact that this is a holiday weekend I am not starting anything new. Tuesdays are an interesting day painting wise, it is VA day. To explain. The Veterans Administration (VA) has a program to which I belong where veterans participate in the arts as kind of a way to soothe our demons (as it were). Actually, most of the vets have some physical disability with which we are dealing, and this group helps as everyone talks, relates and does their art whatever it form it may take. So, for a couple of hours a week no one has any issues, and we all enjoy each other’s work. I’ve been working with the men and women of this group for several years and it is an honor and a joy to know them. I look forward to my Tuesdays.
As I mentioned last week Jill and I went to St Augustine so it only stands to reason I would paint the St Augustine Lighthouse. I have painted it so many times before that this time I thought I would do something a little different, a close-up of the upper tower and lantern room. One of the major draws, at least for me, are the finials around the deck of the lantern room. It is so ornately done it was crying out to be painted. So, I did. Next was the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse. I’ve done this one before, actually it was because of that I was asked to do it again. I needed to have a dental implant done and my dentist referred me to a specialist. While there and after the lidocaine was administered the doctor’s nurse and I were talking, she asked what I did for a living, so I told her. I mentioned where she could view some of my paintings. By that point, anything I said was not understandable, the lidocaine was in full effect. Several days later she called and asked if I would paint the Ponce Inlet for her, I did. Today I am posting both the St Augustine Lighthouse and Ponce Inlet Lighthouse. The St Augustine Lighthouse is for sale, if you would like the Ponce Inlet let me know and I would be happy to paint another one for you.
From The Painted Lighthouse, we wish you a Happy Easter, and Happy Orthodox Easter.

10/04/2025

Thursday afternoon and here I am in the studio working again, actually, I am in the studio working almost every day. Some days are more productive than others; today is not one of those. I really do not know why. I just had a bunch of dental work done, and my mouth is adjusting to it. Plus, I’m tired of getting needles stuck all over my mouth. As I told my dentist, who is also my daughter, the lidocaine that is used as a local pain killer really does not kill the pain; it just postpones it until the doctor goes home. So maybe that is why I’m not too productive at the moment. Oh well, enough of my whining.
My wife, Jill, and I went north to St. Augustine this past week, and as always, it was fantastic. The weather was outstanding, with very clear skies and good visibility. The lighthouse stood out as the Coastal Beacon it is plus the whole downtown region was hustling. We ate at the St. Augustine Fish Camp restaurant one night. If you are ever in the area and have the chance, I highly recommend it. While there, we visited four different state parks, all very nice, some more interesting than others, but all very worth the trip. We are very lucky; Florida does have a great state park system. I will joke and say we plan our vacations around lighthouses, while that is mostly true, we also try to visit as many state parks as possible. As a disabled veteran, I have a pass for both state and national parks, and we use them to see as much of our great country as we can. I could say something here about the maintenance needs of our national parks, but some may consider that political, so I won’t. This is only about lighthouses and our love for them plus the need to preserve them.
Speaking of which, I have a few new paintings I remembered to take photos of. The first one is one I did before, just much larger; it is the Anclote Key Lighthouse in Tarpon Springs, Florida, at sunset. I enjoy watching the sunset settling down over this lighthouse, always a spectacular sight. Next up is the Cape May, New Jersey Lighthouse, and just for good measure, I threw in a swan in the foreground. Up next is another home state light, located on the east coast in the Bill Baggs State Park (there’s that state park thing again) the Cape Florida Light, view looking south.
I just started two new paintings; one is the St. Augustine light (of course). You can’t visit there and not be inspired to paint it. Again. The Ponce Inlet, also in Florida, on a Sand Dollar, the client requested it specially on a sand dollar, I have very few left.
Well, I’m back at work, hope y’all enjoy. Remember, all my work is for sale either from inventory, or if you don’t see it, contact me, and I’ll paint it for you. Thank you for following me and recommending me to others.

11/03/2025

Happy Tuesday. I need help!!! I am asking any of you who might see this to lend a hand if you know the answer. I may have asked this before, but I am still stuck and asking again. Facebook it really doesn’t work for me anymore. Some of you I see in person have mentioned that I’m not sending out my posts and that you haven’t seen any new paintings. I’ve explained that I am sending them out, but Facebook won’t let me send out invites to anyone. I don’t know why. I’ve asked people, I’ve paid so-called experts, but still no answers. It has been suggested I have no friends (imagine that) but I see many Facebook friends, it has been suggested I post too much and I am over my limit, well we all know that’s not the case (I am getting better though), it has been suggested everyone has blocked me, aw come on guys. Really? So, I am serious if anyone has any ideas, please let me know.
We, the Painted Lighthouse, will be in Safety Harbor this weekend – Sunday, March 16th, from 9 – 4pm. As always, we would love to see everyone just stop by to say hi; it is supposed to be a beautiful day. Safety Harbor Kiwanis sponsors the Spring Chalk Fest every year. It is spectacular. Along with those talented artists, there are many other artists, plus lots of good food. Love to see everyone.
I was once told that everyone should Google themselves. Taking that advise I did, many years ago. I found out I was a hard rock drummer for Black Sabbath. I was quite surprised, to say the least. I mean, back in high school, I was in the band; I played brass instruments, but I did fancy myself as a drummer. One of my close friends was a drummer, and during football games, I’d sit with him and play the snare drum during cheers. Easy. Well one game one drummer was sick, and our band director asked me to fill in. HA! Marching with a snare bouncing up and down on your leg while you are trying to play cadence for a couple miles, well let’s just say I was not asked again I was much better at the horns. So, needless to say, it wasn’t me in Black Sabbath. I did find another Bill Ward, an artist- me? No. This Bill Ward was what was known as a “trench art” artist during WWII. He did a lot of risqué “girly” sketches for the troops as a morale thing. They became extremely popular, and he was very good, so good the Army actually had him illustrate training manuals for them. After the war, he produced some very serious paintings. What fascinated me the most was his signature; it was almost identical to mine. I never knew he existed, but we signed our paintings almost the same. there is something about the brush strokes in “WARD” that just lends itself to those brush strokes.
Speaking about brush strokes, I’ve just completed painting the Hilton Head Lighthouse, aka Harbor Town Lighthouse. I like visiting there, the Sea Pines Village and golf courses and the whole Harbor Town area. I thought I might like to do a painting of the light, but I really have very few pictures without my wife and cousins in them, so I was limited but settled on this one. I exercised some license and took out the golfer that was in the foreground. I hope you enjoy it. Again, remember all paintings posted all available for purchase.
Happy Tuesday. I need help!!! I am asking any of you who might see this to lend a hand if you know the answer. I may have asked this before, but I am still stuck and asking again. Facebook it really doesn’t work for me anymore. Some of you whom I see in person have mentioned that I’m not sending out my posts and that you haven’t seen any new paintings. I’ve explained that I am sending them out, but Facebook won’t let me send out invites to anyone. I don’t know why. I’ve asked people, I’ve paid so-called experts, but still no answers. It has been suggested I have no friends (imagine that) but I see many Facebook friends, it has been suggested I post too much and I am over my limit, well we all know that’s not the case (I am getting better though), it has been suggested everyone has blocked me, aw come on guys. Really? So, I am serious if anyone has any ideas, please let me know.
We, the Painted Lighthouse, will be in Safety Harbor this weekend – Sunday, March 16th, from 9 – 4pm. As always, we would love to see everyone. just stop by to say hi; it is supposed to be a beautiful day. Safety Harbor Kiwanis sponsors the Spring Chalk Fest every year. It is spectacular. Along with those talented artists, there are many other artists, plus lots of good food. Love to see everyone.
I was once told that everyone should Google themselves. Taking that advise I did, many years ago. I found out I was a hard rock drummer for Black Sabbath. I was quite surprised, to say the least. I mean, back in high school, I was in the band; I played brass instruments, but I did fancy myself as a drummer. One of my close friends was a drummer, and during football games, I’d sit with him and play the snare drum during cheers. Easy. Well, in one game, a drummer was sick, and our band director asked me to fill in. HA! Marching with a snare bouncing up and down on your leg while you are trying to play cadence for a couple miles, well let’s just say I was not asked again I was much better at the horns. So, needless to say, it wasn’t me in Black Sabbath. I did find another Bill Ward, an artist- me? No. This Bill Ward was what was known as a “trench art” artist during WWII. He did a lot of risqué “girly” sketches for the troops as a morale thing. They became extremely popular, and he was very good, so good the Army actually had him illustrate training manuals for them. After the war, he produced some very serious paintings. What fascinated me the most was his signature; it was almost identical to mine. I never knew he existed, but we signed our paintings almost the same. there is something about the brush strokes in “WARD” that just lends itself to those brush strokes.
Speaking about brush strokes, I’ve just completed painting the Hilton Head Lighthouse, aka Harbor Town Lighthouse. I like visiting there, the Sea Pines Village and golf courses and the whole Harbor Town area. I thought I might like to do a painting of the light, but I really have very few pictures without my wife and cousins in them, so I was limited but settled on this one. I exercised some license and took out the golfer that was in the foreground. I hope you enjoy it. Again, remember all paintings posted are available for purchase.

17/02/2025

Good Monday morning, here we are a week after the Super Bowl, and the NFL is still in the spotlight, and for many of us lighthouse enthusiasts for a very good reason. It was recently announced that the NFL Green initiative is chipping in to plant six hundred cypress trees around the Tchefuncte River Lighthouse. They are being joined by some other major names in sports and business in the local community. Now, this is a big deal to this region, the lighthouse stands where the Tchefuncte River and Lake Pontchartrain join and in storm weather, this region is submerged. Cypress trees here will use a lot of the natural standing water plus help restore the surrounding area. For those of you who have been reading my articles for several years, you may remember, that Jill and I took a Western trip and in doing so stopped a the Tchefuncte Light. But the story was not so much about the light but the people. Back in 2018 when we made this trip we started in Pensacola went across I-10 into Louisiana where we stopped at the Tchefuncte Lighthouse, I had painted it before from photographs and thought it was interesting. If you remember this region was just recovering from Hurricane Francine and the whole area was underwater. When we got to the lighthouse area, we found there wasn’t a way to get to it as it normally was not accessible and that day even less so, and where we drove into was actually a private parking area. After parking though we did meet the residents of the house, and this is what I wrote back in 2018 about that meeting with Pat and his boys who were working on their swamp buggies.:” We met Pat and his boys all of whom took the time, over an hour, to tell us about themselves their property, and the house itself. The house was next to Tchefuncte Lighthouse, separated only by a very shallow "bay" they could drive across via one of their swamp buggies. They in fact offered to do just that and take us to the light.” I explained to Pat I wanted to take pictures of the lighthouse and asked if I could cross his property to do so, he said “I’ll go you one better, go up on that deck that goes all around the house and have a good time”. While I did that he and Jill continued to talk. The photos I took were so much more dynamic than the photographs (this is why we like to visit the lighthouses) I used to paint from. I have always said, that you meet the nicest people who like lighthouses. If you look at recent photos you will see a recent painting of the Tchefuncte Lighthouse.

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13/02/2025

Good morning, so here it is early Thursday morning, a few days after the Super Bowl, I hope everyone enjoyed the game. As I mentioned in my last post, my wife and oldest daughter were especially happy along with my in-laws up in the Philly suburbs. You know I heard someone say at the party about one of the guys being “three sheets to the wind”. Well, me being a sailor and nautical person it rang a special bell, I bet that person didn’t even know what that meant nor how many of our common phrases come from the sea. For instance: let’s look at “Three Sheets to the Wind”, on our early sailing ships if the sails were not set properly problems ensued. The foresails and the top sails were the steering sails, not the power sails so if those three sails got loose in the wind the ship was out of control or “three sheets to the wind”. Someone drinks too much and gets out of control they become “three sheets to the wind”. How did they correct this? They would tighten the line (on a boat a rope is a rope until it has a job then a rope becomes a line), and that line is attached to a “pin”, this pin holds the excess line and is located along the rail of the ship. The line is now “pinned down”. Whenever, in our corporate meetings we were trying to solidify plans, we were trying to “pin down” those plans. How about “open and above board”? On the sailing ships that meant anything on or above the open deck. “Even Keel” is easy, which means the ship is upright, with no listing to port or starboard. How about “Flying Colors”, after a battle the ship emerged with its flags still flying, it came through with flying colors. “Know the Ropes” or “Learn the Ropes” is pretty easy if you have ever been on or around a tall ship, every line or rope is named or numbered and every pin is numbered, you need to know them. How about “Hard and Fast” if a ship is hard and fast it is grounded or beached, not going anywhere. There are a lot more but I’ll “pipe down” now oh that’s a boatswain’s call that tells the crew it’s over, whatever it was it’s over.
Speaking about all things nautical, one of my favorite places is Ocracoke, Virginia, anyone who has been with The Painted Lighthouse will know that. Jill and I actually started our honeymoon there and as I said before back when it was the Outer Banks, not the OBX. Our first time at the lighthouse was a little less than spectacular, we pulled up to the fence, yes back then you could do that many cars, got out, and got nailed by Virginia’s national bird mosquito. Back in the car we dove and drove away to seek insect repellant. That lighthouse over the years has become very special to us as has the whole island, I’ve painted it many times, sometimes when I just need a pick-me-up I’ll paint it. So here is my most recent Ocracoke Lighthouse at Sunset.

06/02/2025

As I mentioned in my Happy February post here a few more paintings done recently.

06/02/2025

Happy February

So here we are in Super Bowl month, February 2025, much has happened since I was last on these pages but I will not go into everything in detail. I will only say my wife told me my New Year resolution needs to be “stay out of the hospital in every month”. So far, so good, and let it go at that. Super Bowl, wow, it seems like it took so long to get here but, here it is. I must admit I am not much of a professional football fan, yes, I have my favorite, but they went out in the first round. My wife and daughter, however, are quite happy as their team is playing in the big game on Sunday. Yes, I will root for them too, my team is gone. Me? I am more of a college football fan, first Navy then the Florida Gators, both had a good year. When it comes to Navy, I remember losing every game but beating Army, now that was a successful year, this year was both a great regular season and beating Army. On top of that, winning the Commander-In-Chief Trophy.
I look at and read a lot of different blog sites or websites (not sure what the difference is) and I know I am not in that category, I like lighthouses and sailing but most of all painting so that’s what I like to talk about. Other than that, I’m just a simple guy. Yesterday I wrote a bunch of stuff and today I realized it was for me; y’all wouldn’t care about it so here I am rewriting. Let’s talk about painting, it’s what I do. I mentioned the Safety Harbor Show in December, it was great, met many new folks, many of which ordered paintings. Most of which have been completed and delivered. That’s all well and good but one of the biggest things is an artist needs is to be challenged. I like lighthouses, I know them I am comfortable painting them but sometimes I lose interest, no challenge. Below I’m posting some new paintings, one of the Tchefuncte Lighthouse in Louisiana, I’ve painted it before-one of my favorites before (it has a personal story for Jill and me), then a new one, the Talare Lighthouse in Wales. Now on to my challenges. I do seascapes and waterfowl also, not as much so not as comfortably as lighthouses, so let’s look at the challenge. I’ve done the Great Blue Heron before but not like the one I just took on; I’ve done the Portland Head Light before but not like the one I just took on. I have a friend who says, as an artist if you are not uncomfortable in what you are doing then you are not doing enough and not growing. So! First my “New Blue Heron” I know there are other artists who will look at it and say “so what” but for me it was stretching me, and it was fun. The Portland Head Light I’m just starting, it is a painting of the Annie C. Maguire wreck. It is very technical, right now I am in the sketching stage. I’ll post it when I’m done. Yeah Dan, I’m uncomfortable, hope you’re happy.
Below I have posted some recent paintings I’ve done with captions plus a few older ones with a back story that might be interesting. Let me know what you think.
Also, as always, all work is for sale, ask if it is in stock, if not I’ll paint it for you. I’m working on a new format for posting with prices, but you know me, I’m a technology idiot.

09/12/2024

Good morning on this December 9, 2024, here in Palm Harbor, Florida we woke up to 55-degree temps, better than the 45 we had yesterday. Speaking of yesterday, that was our big Holiday Fest Show in Safety Harbor, Florida. Kiwanis sponsors two major shows each year, one around Christmas and the other in the Spring called Chalk Fest. At that one, they have chalk artists from around the country plus other visual artists displaying their art. I make sure we attend both, they are great shows plus Kiwanis is a great organization. Our show yesterday was no exception, the weather was outstanding, it started cold but warmed to 72 degrees and was sunny all day, a perfect Florida winter day. We got to meet a lot of new people who love lighthouses, some just love painting, and others were just interested in learning about lighthouses. For those folks, we spent a lot of time talking and explaining the role and importance of lighthouses in early America and even now. How they can be involved in lighthouse restoration if they wish. As for sales, it may have been our best show yet, but it is more about carrying on the legacy of those great Coast Beacons we all love. Aside from that one of the greatest things for Jill and me is the fact that we had so many of our past customers and clients come by just to say “hi” or to place another order. A person from our Chalk Fest show ordered a commission work. It is important to me that I can sell my work but more important that my customers turn into clients and relationships. I had someone suggest one time that I open an Etsy site to sell my art, I thought about it then rejected it. I want to talk to the people I sell to; I like to get to know them and have that personal connection. I want them to know why I paint what I paint and why they buy what they buy. Yes, I am weird, my daughters tell me that all the time, but I remind them-I am an artist you know.

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