Abe Goodale

Born in 1985 on a working sheep farm in Montville, Maine, artist Abe Goodale developed a deep connection to the land, sea, and the people who work them. After studying ceramics and experiential education at university and spending more than a decade working internationally as an educator, he returned to focus on art rooted in the waters and communities where he grew up.

Working primarily in representational watercolor, Goodale creates portraits that honor the individuals he paints while exploring broader themes of human relationships with place, labor, and environment. Influenced by his great-great-grandfather, illustrator Charles Dana Gibson, he blends precise portraiture with expressive elements of water and abstraction.

His recent series on Maine lobstermen grew out of time spent photographing and working alongside fishermen on the water, resulting in paintings that capture their gestures, emotions, and the atmosphere of the sea, paying tribute to the enduring coastal culture and the hardworking people who sustain it.