The Portland area is special because it has six lighthouses within 20 miles of the city.  We packed up our pencils, paper, colored chalk, oil pastels, crayons and our lap desks and drove to all six lighthouses.  At each location we scattered, art supplies in hand, to what we considered was the best vantage point to capture the scene.  We sketched each lighthouse, paying close attention to every detail. 

Then we gathered our supplies, went back to the van, and moved on to the next lighthouse.  Some places inspired us to stay longer – like the area where Cape Elizabeth Light is located.  We sat on the rocks with the waves crashing around us to draw the lighthouses (there are 2 of them there), but then we had to do a little more exploring.  The boys crawled around on the rocks and watched the ocean waves.  Later we returned to have dinner there at the Lobster Shack.
Our Art project was a study in similarities and differences, details, shapes, and colors.  It also helped us capture the essence of coastal Maine.  These images will stay with us for a long time.  The boys had a wonderful time drawing, and I think that’s because they’ve had a lot of positive experiences with art lessons.  Two years ago I taught an art class to about 30 children in the homeschool support group at our church.  The book I taught from is one of my favorite art resources.  It’s called Discovering Great Artists by Mary Ann Kohl.  I used it, along with Mona Brookes’ Drawing with Children.  We learned that there are 5 basic shapes in anything that we draw – curved lines, straight lines, angled lines, circles and dots (those are circles that are colored in).  That one lesson has made a huge difference in my kids’ confidence when it comes to drawing.  During class we experimented with every different kind of medium you can think of – melted crayon, impasto paint, chalk on cotton cloth soaked in milk, etc.  We even learned some art history.  The kids did not want the class to end, and after it did they continued to draw from the series Draw-Write-Now.  They still enjoy drawing, so our day in Portland received rave reviews from the boys (and lots of kind comments from other tourists).  If you’d like to do the same thing, here are the driving directions (Be sure to take your art supplies, camera, and binoculars if you have them.  Allow at least 3 hours.):

Take Rt. 77 south to Cape Elizabeth.  Turn left at the sign for Two Lights State Park and follow the Y in the road to the left to see CAPE ELIZABETH LIGHT, which is now private, and the second light, which is inland from the Cape Elizabeth Light.  If you have time, eat at the Lobster Shack and enjoy the crashing surf.  Beautiful view, good food.

Return to Rt. 77 north and proceed to the light at Shore Road.  Turn right and proceed to Fort Williams Park and follow the main road to PORTLAND HEAD LIGHT, the most photographed lighthouse in the country.  Before leaving, observe RAM ISLAND LIGHT at the entrance to Portland Harbor and HALFWAY LIGHT way off in the distance. 

Head back to Shore Road and turn right.  Go down to Preble Street on the right.  At Fort Road turn right again and at the end will be SPRING POINT LIGHT.  Be sure to walk along the granite breakwater to get a closer look at the light. 

The last lighthouse to see is BUG LIGHT.  Return on Fort Road to the stop sign and turn right at Pickett Street.  Continue across Broadway.  Pickett becomes Breakwater.  At the end of Breakwater, turn right onto Madison and go to the end.  The real name of this light is Breakwater Light.

Have fun!