In 2014 Myra and Steve Gons, of St. Michaels, Maryland and Camp Hill, Pennsylvania had me create a painting of their sailboat Eos underway at the Sharps Island Lighthouse in the upper Chesapeake Bay. The painting was completed, and they were happy with the outcome.

Again, I heard from the couple last year and was asked to paint their new boat Rigel. In this painting Myra and Steve are aboard their Blue Jacket 40 sloop sailing east past the Drum Point Lighthouse in the Patuxent River. The lighthouse* marks the northern side of the river’s entrance into the Chesapeake Bay. The Gonses are avid mariners, love sailing on the Chesapeake, and Myra especially enjoys looking for lighthouses.

Steve is an amateur astronomer and named the boat Rigel after the blue star in the constellation Orion The Hunter, which forms Orion’s left foot. Note just to the right of the lighthouse is the belt and sword of Orion and just to the left of the boat’s foresail is bright star Rigel.

I enjoyed working with Myra and Steve very much on both of these projects.

JMB Winter 2020

Oil on linen 12″ x 21″ Framed overall 16″ x 25″

*The lighthouse was illuminated in 1883 and served mariners for nearly a century. In 1975 it was moved from this location to the grounds of the Calvert Marine Museum in the nearby town of Solomons, Maryland. However, the Gonses wanted it represented in its original location at the mouth of the Patuxent for their painting.

Preparatory sketch for the painting.

Myra and Steve with their two boat portraits.