The young man who had found me on the internet was also in the crab business. He asked me to paint a picture of his boat at his dock on Toogoodoo Creek.
On one occasion, Hugh and a crew were fishing offshore when they lost power in 30 foot seas. The boat was taking on water from the waves. Hugh passed out buckets to the crew.
"How can we bail a boat this big?" one crew member question.
"One bucket at a time...." Hugh snapped back.
The boat had regained power and was able to return to shore without the help of the Coast Guard, but the press complete with television camera's was waiting at the dock.
My husband called to tell me he would not be on TV. When I asked why not, he explained.
"It was low tide! I was going to have to climb out on the dock when the lady reporter leaned over and shoved a microphone in my face. She asked me 'How does it feel to be back home safely, Mr. Lee.?' I reached up, grabbed her on the titty and said 'Mam, I was afraid I would never feel again! She won't put that on TV!"
"The Melissa Lee is lost at Sea." I was half asleep when I heard the radio announcement that the boat was missing. I had sold the boat to a young man who took his crew out into the ocean and never returned.
I'm always nervous when I'm asked to do a specific painting. When there are parameters attached, I always worry that the actual painting I do will not meet the expectations of the person who has made the request. I was especially hesitant when my daughter asked me to paint the SS United States for her husband. It was to be a Christmas gift and his birthday is also on Christmas.
I was also hesitant because my work has been so rural, very coastal South Carolina. A big ship picture would require a different setting. My son-in-law, Joe Muchulsky, was from Brooklyn, N.Y. This was the first ship he sailed on as a teenager, folding sheets in the laundry room.
I did the painting titled "Leaving Home", sailing past the Statue of Liberty with the city in the background. I took the painting to Virginia Beach on Christmas Day 2019 so that he could help me with finishing touches.
Other friends have also asked for paintings of their boats, always with their instructions. My good friend, Bill Shearon, lived on his boat in North Myrtle Beach. He wanted a painting of his boat, "Plenty of Fish", but not in a marina. He wanted a creek scene with marsh and an egret in the background.
Like father, like son. When I had completed Bill's painting, his son, Pat Shearon, also wanted a painting of his boat. His instructions, however, were far more detailed and difficult to follow. His boat, "Wild Bill" was docked at Cricket Cove Marina near Little River, S.C. However, he didn't want it painted in his own boat slip. He wanted me to paint it at the dock up front in the marina with the popular restaurant, Snooky's , in the background.
"And put in one of those brown birds that are always on the dock when we come in from fishing..."
The most challenging thing about painting "Cricket Cove" was all the straight lines; docks, walkways, buildings. When it was all done, I added the brown bird and Pat is happy with the end result.
Boat owners have a saying that the two happiest days in their life is the day they get a boat, and then the day they sell it! For me, the happy days have been when I have completed a request for a boat painting and the boat owner is happy with my finished painting!
I especially enjoyed this painting since I had lived on the Toogoodoo many years earlier when I had done the painting he inherited from his grandmother.
Over the years boats have become an important part of my work. I've often painted the simple little boats used by local crabbers and fishermen, but then, I've had request for other boat paintings over the years.
My husband, Hugh, asked me to paint his boat fishing in the ocean. We had a 55 foot Thompson Trawler designed for long line fishing on the ocean. We had purchased the boat named "The Fiddler's Green" and renamed the boat "Melissa Lee" after our daughter. We simply ignored the old sailors superstition that it was bad luck to change the name of a boat
I finished the painting on Christmas Eve in 1981 and gave it to my husband on Christmas Day. On January 3, 1982, Hugh was killed in a head-on collision and the "Melissa Lee" became part of his estate.
On one occasion, Hugh and a crew were fishing offshore when they lost power in 30 foot seas. The boat was taking on water from the waves. Hugh passed out buckets to the crew.
"How can we bail a boat this big?" one crew member question.
"One bucket at a time...." Hugh snapped back.
The boat had regained power and was able to return to shore without the help of the Coast Guard, but the press complete with television camera's was waiting at the dock.
My husband called to tell me he would not be on TV. When I asked why not, he explained.
"It was low tide! I was going to have to climb out on the dock when the lady reporter leaned over and shoved a microphone in my face. She asked me 'How does it feel to be back home safely, Mr. Lee.?' I reached up, grabbed her on the titty and said 'Mam, I was afraid I would never feel again! She won't put that on TV!"
"The Melissa Lee is lost at Sea." I was half asleep when I heard the radio announcement that the boat was missing. I had sold the boat to a young man who took his crew out into the ocean and never returned.
I'm always nervous when I'm asked to do a specific painting. When there are parameters attached, I always worry that the actual painting I do will not meet the expectations of the person who has made the request. I was especially hesitant when my daughter asked me to paint the SS United States for her husband. It was to be a Christmas gift and his birthday is also on Christmas.
I was also hesitant because my work has been so rural, very coastal South Carolina. A big ship picture would require a different setting. My son-in-law, Joe Muchulsky, was from Brooklyn, N.Y. This was the first ship he sailed on as a teenager, folding sheets in the laundry room.
I did the painting titled "Leaving Home", sailing past the Statue of Liberty with the city in the background. I took the painting to Virginia Beach on Christmas Day 2019 so that he could help me with finishing touches.
Other friends have also asked for paintings of their boats, always with their instructions. My good friend, Bill Shearon, lived on his boat in North Myrtle Beach. He wanted a painting of his boat, "Plenty of Fish", but not in a marina. He wanted a creek scene with marsh and an egret in the background.
Like father, like son. When I had completed Bill's painting, his son, Pat Shearon, also wanted a painting of his boat. His instructions, however, were far more detailed and difficult to follow. His boat, "Wild Bill" was docked at Cricket Cove Marina near Little River, S.C. However, he didn't want it painted in his own boat slip. He wanted me to paint it at the dock up front in the marina with the popular restaurant, Snooky's , in the background.
"And put in one of those brown birds that are always on the dock when we come in from fishing..."
The most challenging thing about painting "Cricket Cove" was all the straight lines; docks, walkways, buildings. When it was all done, I added the brown bird and Pat is happy with the end result.
Boat owners have a saying that the two happiest days in their life is the day they get a boat, and then the day they sell it! For me, the happy days have been when I have completed a request for a boat painting and the boat owner is happy with my finished painting!
Stunning
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