A lobster shack is a humble, oftentimes rough-and-tumble establishment located close to the water which serves fresh-cooked lobster and often a variety of other seafood. Lobster shacks offer no-frills dining with a sea view and food that was pulled from the sea just hours before it lands on your plate. They’re an essential part of any Maine vacation.
We’ve enjoyed meals at lobster shacks up and down the Maine coast, from Kennebunkport to Quoddy Head, so I knew I had to include one in my “What I Love About Maine” sketchbook.
Perry’s Lobster Shack is perched on the narrowest strip of land between the road and the bay, just down the road from where we stayed in Surry. The kitchen is in a building that looks like a storage shed, but they manage to turn out some delicious food from that tiny space. It’s even listed here as one of Maine’s best lobster shacks!
I sketched Perry’s when we were on our way to my friend Michelle’s house that first day in Maine. We had a little extra time before Michelle was expecting us, so I seized the moment and stopped to sketch the colorful jumble, setting up my stool in the grass along the side of the parking lot where I had a good view of all the goings-on. The red umbrellas and flying flags were what really drew me in, and I knew I could eliminate some of the extraneous elements to “cuten up” my sketch. (That’s my own highly technical term!)
I started off by planning where my title would go. An arcing line of twinkle lights would set it off from the rest of the sketch. I penciled in some “placeholder lettering”, planning to finalize the lettering style later on.
I moved the umbrellas and sketched them closer to the lobster shack so I could fit them on the page, and the building was abbreviated by chopping off the right side. To simplify the scene, I left out the Aquafina vending machine, some signage, and other miscellaneous elements.
The foreground flowers added a nice organic element to the scene. I changed the style of the center pots from rectangular to round to add some variety and gave the flowers a few weeks’ growth to plump them up a bit.
That big white tank behind the flowers is where the lobsters are held during their last hours. (*sniff* so sad…)
I kept the spool table in the picture but changed the stuff on top and behind it, keeping the items fairly nondescript.
The sketch was inked using Platinum Carbon Black ink and a Sailor Fude fude fountain pen. I like the irregular edges I can make with the nib when I drag it across the textured Etchr paper.
I got most of the sketch painted on location and finished up the rest that evening. The trickiest part was painting the lobster traps. I ended up painting the dark insides first with watercolor, then, after that was dry, I used a small round brush loaded with opaque gouache to paint the woven wire sides.
After driving past Perry’s all week long on our way to someplace else, we finally had a chance to eat there on our last day. Everything on the menu looked tempting, especially the lobster, but, on the recommendation of my friend Joel, I opted for a crab-stuffed grilled cheese sandwich instead. It definitely didn’t disappoint!
After lunch, we invited the owner, Seth, over to our table to show him my sketch. He was really tickled with it and studied it for quite awhile. It must be so much fun to see your place through someone else’s eyes like that.
I loved getting to meet Seth and learning more about the story behind this cute little lobster shack on Newbury Neck Road near the little town of Surry, Maine. I hope I have a chance to return some day – next time, I’ll order the lobster!
20 Comments
Simply wonderful! Thank you for the great sketch and description of your sketching process.
It is my dream to someday eat lobster in Maine and also attend one of your workshops. Have you ever considered visiting Seattle? My Queen Anne neighborhood has many picturesque bungalows.
My husband and I visited Seattle years ago, before I was a sketcher. I’d LOVE to return some day and do a workshop there or just sketch on my own.
I have not been to Maine in many years but it is a beautiful area and love your sketch of the Lobster Shack. It looks so inviting. Thanks for sharing your sketches on Everyday Artist.
I think it’s so cool how a sketch can capture the feel of a place without being a literal image of it.
You are so talented. It is great how you can eliminate and alter things to make a more pleasing composition and still keep the essence of what was in front of you . It is a delightful result. I wish I had that skill.
Carry on, Lee Ann
I remember years ago when I was still a beginning sketcher it suddenly dawned on me that I could change the scene I was drawing to improve upon it. Using invented coloring was another light bulb moment. Now I love knowing that I can capture the essence of a place without trying to copy the scene exactly. It’s very freeing.
Thank you for responding. I am still waiting for that lightbulb moment.
I usually do botanical style painting . They need to be pretty exact. I like looking at your newsletter and seeing how you can change things for the better.hopefully something will help me get my lightbulb moment? 😉
Is there another way to make it happen?
LeeAnn
Being on location seems to be key for me. I can see everything clearly, so I just pick and choose the elements I want to sketch, the things that are important to me about the place, and put them where I want them to be. (I tend to feel more locked in when I’m working from a photo.) Being there, in the excitement of the moment, I tend to sketch what I’m really drawn to and leave out the stuff that seems too tedious to draw or doesn’t contribute anything worthwhile to the picture.
Sometimes I leave things out for practical reasons. In the lobster shacks sketch, I couldn’t fit the tables under the umbrellas, but they weren’t interesting anyway, so I knew I wouldn’t miss them. I liked some of the signage, but it didn’t fit on my small sketchbook page, which was already cluttered with a LOT of other elements.
I think another thing that helps me is to have a lighthearted attitude and approach the sketch as an opportunity to have fun rather than trying to make something precious and perfect. I also tell myself no one will ever know whether that tree was really over there or if the building had twice as many windows. (In the case of this Perry’s sketch though, now everyone knows how much I fudged things!) I hope this helps a bit.
This painting was delightful. I could almost taste the lobster in the cool ocean breeze.
Thanks for making my day even better.
You’re welcome, Karen. I hope you can visit Maine some day. It’s magical!
That is amazing! We travel to Surry every summer and are lucky enough to frequent Perry’s several times and it truly is the best. I would love to purchase one of these paintings if you’re ever contemplating another one!
I’ve uploaded it to my online print shop here. You can order prints in many different sizes as well as products like mugs, notebooks, etc.
Wow. Have driven by (and eaten at) Perry’s many times. What a wonderful whimsical portrayal of a Maine icon. Great job! If you ever sell prints I would be interested!
I can upload it to my online print shop. Email me for details, if you’re interested. (You’ll find my email address under the Contact tab.)
I’ve uploaded the image to my online print shop, so you can order prints and products with the “Lobster Shacks” sketch on them.
Link
It looks pretty cute on a mug!
Some wonderful ideas and reminders here, Leslie. I especially love the lobster traps and the reminder that one can “edit” to make the painting a little easier or less cluttered. What a lovely memory and grand time!
We visited this lobster shack last summer and you are right…the view is wonderful and the food good, altho a bit pricy..I’m dreaming of Maine as I sit in TN on this cold snowy day in Jan. You certainly improved the “real” place with your placement of geraniums for color. xoxo
Artistic license! I “cuten up” a lot of what I paint. 🙂
I just ordered 2 Maine coffee mugs with your paintings on them and wondered if you had ever put the painting of the Japanese bridge (a la Monet) in Somesville, Me on a coffee mug? I also ordered your IRELAND book for Tom’s 93 birthday on Jan. 31st.xoxo
I hope you like them! I uploaded the Somesville bridge painting for you, too.