Vinalhaven Sketchbook 2026
I love having a whole week of vacation to explore and paint. It’s such a treat, but it also comes with pressure. While I’m settling into a week off from work, I often feel the need to produce something spectacular. The “masterpiece syndrome” strikes, making it harder to relax, put pen to paper, and see what happens. It took me a few days to shake it this time, but I eventually found my groove.
It turned out that painting lichens was just what I needed. At first, I thought they would be too small and pokey, but having something specific to focus on helped me get going. I could build a page a little at a time, without worrying about where the whole thing was headed.
I also needed to loosen up. A few days in, I picked up an onion, sketched it in two minutes with water-soluble ink, and quickly added watercolor. That little exercise felt nicely spontaneous, and it changed how I approached the rest of the week. Later, sketching at low tide, I brought looser brushstrokes and wetter paint to the subjects at hand.
On our final day, I sketched a giant spruce tree anchored to a granite ledge in one of the island’s preserves. It was late afternoon and I had the place to myself. As the fog rolled in, I decided to simply create an impression of the moment and try to let it be.
By the end of the week, my sketchbook felt less like a test of what I could produce and more like a record of what I had noticed, which is exactly as it should be.
The island of Vinalhaven lies 18 miles out to sea from Rockland, Maine. If you like, you can see prior years’ sketches from the island by typing “Vinalhaven” in the search bar.
Drawn In 
Love the progression! And all of the parts! Will savor these for a good long time.
Thanks Camille!
I totally relate to time off and the need-to-produce-pressure. Last week a friend and I had 4 days on our favourite 100 acres. We hike no matter what, but one wet day we decided to hike without art supplies, even though there are a couple sheltered places where it’s possible to sketch and paint. At the end of the day we shared about all we saw and experienced noting the absence of pressure “to find a good view.” The following day the paints seemed to flow much more freely.
Thank you for sharing your process of how to get past the pressure. The colours, the white space and the design of your pages are so restful. Your tree and Wendell Berry poem are a very special tribute to him.
PS: One of the shelters where I painted last week has his “wild things” poem engraved and mounted on it, making it extra special to me.
Thanks Jan. NOT bringing a sketchbook when hiking is a good idea. I always bring it, but don’t always use it. Maybe not having it would be worth trying.
I was sorry to hear of Wendell Berry’s passing. He has been very influential in my life. I appreciate you noticing the poem.
Thank you for sharing your lovely journal pages!Do you have any online courses available for purchase? Thank you. Patty PerrierSent from my iPadOn Sep 6, 2026,
Hi Patty- I teach online through Winslow Art Center and the course videos are available for several months after the classes end. You can search the Winslow website for some of my past free short programs. Otherwise, I don’t have video-only classes.
Love all of your sketches/watercolor “masterpieces” Jean. In my mind, everything you create are masterpieces, self proclaimed or not. But your more relaxed approach was obvious. These really are beautiful and illustrate what a wonderful week you experienced. They are all a breath of fresh ocean air.
You definitely achieved results depicting, as you said, “a record of what I had noticed.”
Thanks Barb. I always love going to Vinalhaven and sinking into that ecosystem for a week. Wish it were longer!
you’re welcome! You can always dream!
I love the Lesser Yellowlegs!
Thanks Peggy! There were small flocks that we watched at low tide every day. Semipalmated plovers and black-bellied plovers showed up, too, but they stayed farther from shore, so were harder to sketch.
Jean-THANKYOU for this helpful and inspiring post! I’m going to Sequoia National Park for sketching/painting vacation on Tuesday. Was feeling “Masterpiece” pressure. Now I know what to do!
Thanks Nancy! I hope you have a wonderful trip. You may still feel some masterpiece pressure. It is probably inherent when we are time limited in spectacular places. I hope you can just relax and paint without too much worry. Sometimes the small sketches are the ones I like best afterward.
Hi Jean, I so love your emails with examples of your work. I love the lettering styles and creative placement of the lettering along with general layout of your sketchbook pages. Question I have….did you do the bird from your own reference photo? Or can you recommend a website to find good reference images of birds. Peri
Hi Peri- I had the good fortune of watching lesser yellowlegs from our deck everyday at low tide. I made small sketches of them as they fed, and then looked at some videos online so that I could pause and see more features. I typically check Pixabay online for reference photos, though it is limited for bird species and you need to know bird id because several lookalikes will come up in a search. I have a few bird photographer friends and I sometimes ask them for reference photos. It’s definitely a challenge to come up with good ones!
Thanks so much. I always love your bird illustrations, and also the eggs and nests! Peri
Jean, as always, I love your pages and thoughts in your emails. This last sentence particularly reached me: “my sketchbook felt less like a test of what I could produce and more like a record of what I had noticed, which is exactly as it should be.” As you know, my husband and I just completed a month-long trip up the eastern USA and into PEI and Nova Scotia. Besides my (thousands of) photographs, I also kept a journal with thoughts, drawings/watercolors and entries about what we did. I don’t usually preplan my journal pages, and yet…and yet…there are times when I don’t like my lettering, or in writing I was literally falling asleep because it was the end of the day, or I was writing while lying down in a tent. I’ve had to remind myself multiple times, “it’s a JOURNAL…it’s more important to get it down so you can look back and remember all the incredible experiences, rather than a book aiming for perfection that you would never keep up with.” Thus, your words and also vulnerability in sharing what you experienced within yourself were deeply encouraging. We’re all so human! 😉😊
Hi Susanne- Thanks for reaching out. It’s not easy for me to share vulnerability, but it’s certainly there. I have the extra pressure of sharing what I sketch publicly, so I have to keep that in check, too. I tell myself it’s just for me, which helps. Reminding myself, as you did, that it’s just a JOURNAL, also helps a lot. Sometimes, I think you have to be willing really let go of expectation and risk making a mess of things to push through and grow.
I’m glad you got to experience PEI and Nova Scotia. Beautiful places! I look forward to seeing your photos.
What great fun to see what you were playing with this past week. Thanks also for the connection to past sketchbooks. Really interesting to see what you have chosen to paint over the years.
Thanks Joanne- I tend to paint the same things year over year. I always seem drawn to the same subjects and places. Doing a deep dive into lichens was new this year and I really learned a lot. I’m glad to have opened that door.
Ah, that Yellowlegs. The very best of your style of work. I am once again in awe.
Remembering our week on Hog Island with great pleasure.
Hi Janet! We got to watch the lesser yellowlegs right off our deck every day at low tide. Such a treat! I like being in Maine in August for the opportunity to see the migrant shorebirds. We got to see Wilson’s storm petrels from the ferry, too!
Remind me what year you were at Hog Island. We were just back there two weeks ago for its 90th anniversary celebration. We had just enough time to hike the east shore trail and have dinner, but it was so lovely to be back on the island. So many fond memories!
I came with my friend, MaryEllen Rodda, in Jun 2021. I’m from California, She’s from Maine. We ate outside because of covid, and they had far fewer at a time because of covid. The weather was great! The art classes were magical!
Cheers
Janet
Thanks! The years sort of blend together for me, but I remember the Covid year because we were figuring it all out and just happy to be there. All the meals are outside now– it just seemed to work well and people liked it. I’m glad you remember it fondly!
Jean, these are so beautiful and thank you for the Wendell Berry poem. I am just discovering him and his work.
Nina- I’m glad you’ve discovered Wendell Berry. His poetry and writing are deeply moving. It’s rare to read someone who is so grounded in place. He’s been an inspiration to me for many years.
Amazing work! The way you bring out textures is very inspiring, and I can’t believe you spent only two minutes on that onion.. Still, I think the giant spruce is my favorite. I can really picture it in real life, almost hanging there over the edge. 🙂
Hi Kim– Two minutes sketching the onion. Another five painting it. Still, I wanted to work really quick. It was an exercise in saying “I don’t really care how this turns out, I just need to let go.” Sometimes, taking the risk to throw it all away is just what a painting needs. I’m glad you like the giant spruce. It really is hanging on the edge and it has one huge root cutting across a crack in the granite holding it in place. It’s amazing to see the tenacity of trees on Vinalhaven. They are survivors. I also sketched a huge red maple that arced over, touched the ground, and kept growing. I wasn’t happy with the way the sketch turned out, but the tree was well worth spending time with. Wishing you good sketching this week!
Thank you so much, Jean! It sounds like a fascinating place. I can absolutely relate to what you’re saying. It’s when I stop thinking and simply let my hands do the work that I often get the very best results. The moment doubt creeps in, it’s time to stop 🙂
This is a delightful story of rest and renewal. And I appreciate Berry’s “don’t come with me, you stay home too”, which is both an invitation to do some of our own relaxing, as well as to respect the quiet that others need.
Wonderful story and you’re giving me encouragement to try lichens, again! I find them so challenging!!
Start with rock tripe– the shape is so fun to draw and you’ll practice curling things. Lungwort is good, too, because it’s larger. Just bite off a small section. Send me a photo!
beautiful work! can I see more of your work?
Jean, are you using the 100% cotton Watercolor handbook? There seem to be so many choices.
Thanks,
Nina