Located in South Portland, Maine
“Lobster Boat Passing Bug Light in Casco Bay” 12×18 oil pastel on paper
Bug Light is a very popular and beloved lighthouse in Casco Bay. It is prominently visible from downtown Portland as it marks the entrance to Portland, Harbor. It is one of three lighthouses one can see from the Eastern Promenade on the Portland Peninsula. (Portland Head Light and Spring Point Light are the others.) It is easily accessible through Bug Light Park in South Portland and frequented daily by neighborhood joggers and dog walkers.
Personally, I like to eat lunch in the park or do some sketching, or simply sit and watch the Casco Bay Ferries go back and forth from Peak’s Island.
The painting above was done in 2017. It depicts a view from the end of the Maine State Pier across from Bug Light Park. It is a great spot to watch boats enter and exit Portland Harbor. This particular day was in very early spring where the buds were just starting to form on the trees after a long winter. The pale pink / purple colors made and interesting combination with the gray of the bare branches and greens of the conifers. It was a color palette I don’t often see in New England landscape painting.
About Portland Breakwater Lighthouse
The current 20′ high, Greek Revival lighthouse was built in 1875. It replaced the original wooden beacon that had been built to mark the end of the 1800 foot long jetty which had been completed in 1836 to protect Portland’s piers and docks from tidal storm surges. After nearby Spring Point Ledge Light was built in 1897, a small two room cottage was built on the jetty next to Bug Light. This cottage was home to the light keeper who was responsible for the operation of both lighthouses. It was later torn down in 1935.
In the 1940’s the water between the shore and jetty was filled in to expand operations of the shipyards building the famed Liberty Ships for World War II. Only 100 feet of the original 1800 foot breakwater remains in open ocean. The massive cranes of the shipyard made the tiny lighthouse obsolete. It was decommissioned in 1942.
The lighthouse was eventually bought by the City of South Portland in 1985. It was restored by the collective efforts of the South Portland Rotary Club and Spring Point Ledge Light Trust. In 2002 it was relit and is now listed by the US Coast Guard as a “…private aid to navigation.”
About the Artwork
The original “Lobster Boat Passing Bug Light” painting is 16″x12″ oil pastel on paper. The original as well as prints are available through my online gallery, FineArtNewEngland.com.