These works of art were created en plein air, from a grassy bluff overlooking Atlantic breakers crashing on the black lava rocks of the Azorean shoreline of Mosteiros.

Mosteiros, acrylics on loose canvas, 12”x12”, brad betts, asma

“The churning sea
like a glass
turquoise bottle
tipped with white blooms,
waving and rolling
in an open field
of blue
broken by black ledges,
twisted and sharp diffusers,
round and swirling
where the molten memory remains.

Warming skin,
soft tickle of loose tendrils,
quick touchdown
of a small fly.
The chill of a shadow
cast by the crater’s windward clouds.
Lumps and bumps,
a bed of grass
on a path
worn down by many travelers.

A ceaseless roar,
birdsong,
doors slamming,
tourist chatter.
Languages you understand
when your eyes are closed.
The twinkling
of paint brushes
spun clean,
the turquoise of the sea
left behind,
captured in a glass bottle.”

— Danielle Betts

This winter, we spent time on Great Salt Bay in the “temporary town’ created by ice fishing men and women each year. We were driving toward Damariscotta and the bright colors of the fishing shacks across the water caught our eye. Great Salt Bay is not entirely frozen; only the upper reaches freeze solid in the winter and the little temporary town was huddled in this upper cove of the bay.

“Temporary Town”, 11x14 oil by Brad Betts, ASMA

The first day we saw the town we pulled over on the side of the road and painted. We didn’t walk down into the village but spoke to some of the fishermen and women as they arrived with buckets or pulled their gear off the ice in large sleds.

“Ice Fishing Shacks” 11x14 oil by Brad Betts, ASMA

“Ice Shacks on the Bay”, 9x12 oil by Danielle Betts

Several weekends later, we packed our supplies and brought along buckets as seats so we could paint on the ice. It was a gorgeous mid-January day and even though we were sitting in nearly a foot of snow on many inches of ice, we felt warm and inspired by the sun, sky, the outrageously colorful fish shacks and the tracks through the snow that led to each one.

“Ice Fishing on Great Salt Bay”, 8x10 oil by Brad Betts, ASMA

After that weekend, we went through a warm spell and the upper few inches of ice melted into a surface of water. Within weeks, the shacks were removed and the temporary town was gone for another season.