New York Times - Katahdin, & the gift that keeps on giving!

Ian White, a California painter, was invited to come to Maine and paint during the campaign to raise the funds to purchase Katahdin Lake and add it to Baxter State Park.

Ian wrote to me last year, to tell me that he had been told that a story in the New York Times showing me painting on the shore of Katahdin Lake was critical in completing fund-raising of $14million dollars in private money for the campaign. He was interested in seeing the painting and hearing the story about it.

The link to the story is on the Media page of my website.

Ian wrote: "Sam Hodder, Director of Maine Trust for Public Land at that time, has verified my recollection that it was your watercolor illustrating the article about the acquisition of Katahdin Lake in the Sunday NY Times in October, 2006, which caught the eye of an estate lawyer. His decision at he eleventh-hour to support the campaign with a bequest from the estate of a deceased client covered the last $1 million that put the campaign over the top".

What a thrill to be reminded of this once in a lifetime experience! I am looking forward to seeing Ian again on June 28th at Bowdoin College Museum of Art, at a reception where he will be signing his new book "The Creative Impulse: Art of Ian McKibbin White".

Here's the painting. You can see where snow flakes hit the paper!