I am an artist based in the West End of Portland, Maine. While I have lived in Maine for the greater part of my life, I was raised on the North Shores of Cape Cod. Both places are my muse and my heart.

My painting practice works from observation and memory. I am habitual to the scenes I paint, setting up my easel in the same locations. I find that the ever-changing light, temperature, and weather creates a unique sensation in a familiar landscape. Each hour of every day is singular.

Chance is to be embraced. The more I paint in a specific location, the more I begin to relinquish my own expectations and let myself be moved by the temperaments of weather and time. I have been in front of the angry Atlantic hurling salt spray toward me, winds determined to rip canvas from the prongs of my easel. As I have painted the Atlantic subdued as a pane of glass, lapping at my feet. Showing up constantly to the same places no matter the circumstance has produced a profound anticipation. I am always spellbound.

Historically, New England has an incredible outreach of artists working en plein air. The absolute need to paint— the hunger for making— is a sensation that we individually share. Where this drive of making comes from is another mysterious part of the ritual of landscape painting. What I can say with absolute certainty: when my heart begins to palpitate in the face of the landscape, I know something profound is about to happen.

Grace (B. 2000) holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from the Maine College of Art and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from The University of Maine at Farmington. She is a 2026 recipient of the Pace House Residency and Cuttyhunk Island Plein Air Workshop Residency.