Holly L. Smith is a Maine native whose paintings reflect a deep personal and historical connection to the state’s coastline. Her lineage traces back to the Mayflower, and her great-grandfather, Captain George Lane, sailed from Rockport to the West Indies transporting lime and lumber. Born into a family that nurtured her artistic instincts, Holly began painting young, supported by private lessons and her parents’ encouragement—even submitting to the famous “Draw This Pirate” correspondence course ad. While the program didn’t stick, her passion for art certainly did. Holly earned her Bachelor of Science in Art Education from the University of Southern Maine (then Portland-Gorham) and spent over 30 years teaching art and photography in Maine public schools. Her educational career included pioneering Advanced Placement art programs and developing a thriving high school darkroom, while also teaching adult education painting courses. “I wanted my students to see their surroundings in new ways,” she says, “and believe in their own creative capacity.” Her own practice centers on coastal Maine—painting in oil, often plein air, on islands like Monhegan, Vinalhaven, and Eagle before completing larger works in her Rockport studio. She frequently returns to the water’s edge for inspiration: tidal coves, rocks, light patterns, and the atmospheric shifts of low tide. “I try to gather the energy of the day—the feeling, the mood—and paint that,” she says. She credits her early watercolor background with training her eye to preserve negative space and light in her oils. Holly’s paintings are included in public and private collections, including First National Bancorp and The Samoset Resort. She has exhibited throughout the region and continues to teach, travel, and explore the Maine coast. “There are so many people who’ve sat on those rocks and stared at the sea,” she says. “They just want to take a little bit of that feeling home.” Learn more about Holly’s creative life and legacy on Radio Maine.