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A FISH-BOAT MANIAC. . .
A strange encounter
awaited me at the coast.
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NOW IT CAN BE TOLD!
Who was the mysterious
MR SANDERS?
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Before I tell all, let me say first,
I am utterly not a fisherman/woman or even a water person. In my mid-western childhood, I knew little of the water. our home city was on the Ohio River, yet I had only been on a few scenic ponds and creeks nearby.
My fishing history? I caught one small catfish on a church-group outing once. When I was young, my father owned a small aluminum boat for lake fishing but used it very little. I had a few turns at the rudder. Oh, and yes, I once got to wade along the Wisconsin shore of Lake Michigan!
Living in California for more than twenty years, I often found myself at the coast with a paintbrush in hand, pursuing new artistic interests. A strange encounter awaited me there. My visits were inviting a strange compulsion to take over although I failed to realize it at the time. Somehow I turned into an artist who loves paiting commercial fishing boats. Yes, a fish-boat maniac.
All this dawned on me one day while walking around the Bodega Bay docks, gazing mindlessly at the fishing boats. One had a sturdy wooden worktable on deck, with a home sign propped up, saying, "Fresh Salmon Today." It was then and there I got it!--there are still people here trying to make a living by selling their catch.
Now, everywhere I go, I see them: small fishing boats with crews of one, two, three, heading out to fish, returning later to sell their salmon, crab, or tuna. On the docks, anytime, night or day, I find fishermen and fisherwomen at work: cleaning, fixing, painting their boats, all to get ready to go out again and try their luck.
The craft that often supply our favorite restaurants and markets are still run by tiny crews braving death and disaster daily, so we can enjoy our extra-fresh broiled salmon, our crab Louis salas, our shrimp cocktails.
In starting to paint these charming craft, I fully expected to be shown the door--or whatever they show you on the slippery docks! But sometimes being a plump, graying grandmother has been my useful artist's disguise. Or so I hoped. Off I went with my sketchbook and camera, soon caught up by all I saw.
Continues right >>>
In spite of their rough exteriors, hard labor, and no-nonsense movements, the fisher folk seemed glad to see me there. An artist or photographer (or whatever I was) who was interested in their life was warmly received.
My shame over my boat ignorance soon prodded me to learn a little about the design history of the craft. My art improved. Practice helped too. Still I admit I would have given up trying to capture their beauty long ago if I didn't also believe that the outsider's point of view is also valuable. I definitely bring fresh eyes to the scenes I see.
I finally got over my shyness and dread and got to know a few fishing families. They even invited me to show my pictures at their next major fundraiser. They expressed gratitude that i would take their way of life so seriously. They shared their opinions on why the local fishermen were the last consideration in regional politics and economics, in spite of their valuable contribution. I was honored.
Other artists push me to explain the cause of my odd artistic passion. While I did not grow up in a fishing family, I did grow up in a working-class home. And this social group became a major personal interest during my university days. I have left school behind now, but the fascination with the familiar struggles of blue-collar life never ended. When I took up a paintbrush instead of a pen at the boat harbor, how natural that I would be drawn deeply to something so strange and yet so familiar.
Over time my motives have become clearer and even stronger, pushing me to paint yet another boat or harbor. I always find something at the coast to excite my desire to create. So it has been for twelve years now and still feels new. So I keep at it, celebrating these beautiful boats. And sharing the results with others. I guess this is my destiny. And I am lucky to be able to follow it!
--Carol Lois Haywood, pacifc marine artist
(See the art at the right from my Bodega Bay visits, but especially note the top painting, showing the moment that started it all!)
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artist's collection
Bodega Bay painting
The actual scene in my story, left!
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Bodega Bay painting
artist's collection
Bodega Bay painting
artist's collection
Bodega Bay painting
artist's collection
Bodega Bay ink drawing
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