For six decades, Roy Stever has explored the wilderness areas of Northern New England, but only lately has he begun to see them through the eyes of an artist. Roy has reached the summits of all 4000’ mountains in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont as well as experienced the exquisite Maine Coastline, from Quoddy Head south to the marshes of Wells. In 2018, well in to his sixties, Roy resolved to record his life-long travels in a new undertaking – oil painting. He would do so with the benefit of memory, his own photographs and the instruction of Maine Artist Margaret Gerding.

Roy paints both plein air and in the studio, using just a palette knife, uncut paints and a canvas or board. His subjects are recognizable, interpreted as an impressionist and captured with a classical process. The works offer visual emphasis with exciting lines, distinct color transitions and interesting shapes.

“Marking Time in the Wild” takes us north to places such as Mt. Washington in New Hampshire and Katahdin in Maine and then follows the coastline south to touch on natural features like Petit Manan, Monhegan Island and Schoodic Point in Acadia National Park. Works from the artist’s hometown in New Hampshire are painted from a local point of view of the White Mountains and its headwaters. There are paintings of Vermont as well, including a quirky summit named “The Owl”, a Green Mountain pond and a Waitsfield cow.

“All of my work is informed by at least one visit, in some cases on many occasions through the years. In a Plein air painting, I search at length for a dramatic perspective and the best light. In a studio setting, I rely upon my own photographs, sketches and memories to find that same sense of adventure in capturing a worthy subject.” – Roy Stever

Roy and his wife Debbie live on an historic 160-acre farm at the edge of the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire, accompanied by dogs, cats, and a steady flow of family, moose, bears, bobcats, otters and others.