Ian's World. Write On. Excellent.

I was in the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland yesterday, stepping in from the relentless Maine fog for a short hour, and into the foggy realization that I love this place, coastal Maine, even more than I know. The Wyeths (N.C., Andrew and Jamie), three generations of downeast artists, reminded me of what I don't know. They did it through their paintings. I don't know the people of Maine, with the sad exception of Buffy the Varty Slayer from Seal Harbor (he with orbital sander and attitude). And even then, I don't really know why he was so unhappy, and why he was so eager to share his misery with me.

Looks like we've found a Wyeth character! Or perhaps he's better suited to Stephen King. Either way, there's a story there.

I feel like I know the Maine coastal landscape well, though no one could ever really know her completely...she's too elusive. Between fog and night, not to mention the tides, there's little hope. My knowledge of the Maine coast is intimate, but more along the lines of someone who knows his girlfriend's toe nail and nothing north. Love is an idea and not something that can be known, or held. Love can't be touched, only felt.

Okay, I'm in love with coastal Maine...head over heels. Drunk. Stoned. Blind. Dumbstruck. I've seen some pretty places in my life, but I keep coming back to Maine. I have to...it's not an option anymore. It's the smile on my face. You haven't seen me happy, until you've seen me in Maine.

I'd love to spend six seasons in Maine (spring, summer, fall, winter, life and death). I will.

The image above is yet another Varty attempt to deify the Wyeths. Andrew Wyeth's 1948 painting, Christina's World, which hangs in New York City's Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), inspired my 'Made In Nikon' knockoff. In the Wyeth original, polio stricken Christina turns back toward her home; defiant, hopeful, scared, proud...who knows? That's the beauty of the painting. We'll never know what Christina was thinking, we only know that Andrew Wyeth has made us wonder for 61 years. As long as there's society, there will be curiosity.

So why would I have a 'MAXIMUM 100' sign in my image? Easy...on March 19 I decided to start a blog. My goal was to write 100 posts in a row, one per day. Today I've done it! I've enjoyed the exercise immensely. Now I'm pondering my next move...should I raise the speed limit?

I think so. I've got an autobahn full of ideas and the images that inspire me to keep on rolling forward. I'm not setting any stupid goals like 100 in a row. Last evening my parents sat patiently on one of the Opera House's comfy sofas while I frantically tried to keep my blog record alive. That was rude and doesn't lead to quality programming. I'll be writing when I want, where I want. The good news, for me, is that I love to write.

I hope someday to discover, in my home of Cambridge-Narrows, what three generations of Wyeths found in Maine. I know it's right under my ample nose and I'm getting closer to it every day. The past three days in Maine has been very good for me...very good indeed.