There's something about the colors on Deer Isle: they are different. They seemed brighter and more vivid than further south, and they are somehow warmer. The water is more aqua and green, the rocks are browner and rounder, and the trees are greener. At least I think they are. My friend Liz agrees with me, so I have a witness!
On Deer Isle I was experimenting with different ways to lighten my pack when hiking in materials to paint. For a 3-ish mile, easy hike on Deer Isle I just decided to carry my paint box by the handle rather than in a pack on my back. I packed one palette knife, no liquid/turpentine, and only the paint on the palette (no stored tubes) and some rags. I think the box was a little over 3 or 4 lbs and it felt easy for me to carry. It was a quickie study, followed by a very quick dip in the freezing cold water. The really ridiculous part was trying to get the painting home without smudging - note to self and others who may be trying this at home - bring a panel pack or some kind of wet panel protector! My panel wasn’t a matched size for the box so I very gingerly set it up in the box and closet the the box hoping it would stand without bumpint too much and somehow it DID make it home. 
I later sat down at the picnic table to work out this painting using a brush and reference photos. It is interesting to look at both paintings next to each other, because while the strokes and orientation are different, and they were painted on different days, I still landed on the same color palette both times. Warm, green and clean!
Thank you to weather gods for these gleaming days on the coast!
For more on essential backpacker art supplies and hiking in to paint, see this post.
