“The life is in the paint.”

Plein air artist Lee Boynton encourages his students to be generous with paint, and to enjoy the feel of it on the brush as they apply it to the canvas. “Every stroke of the brush is an expression of your heart,” he says.

Boynton has found his life in the paint. His passion for painting runs deep. He was first exposed to the power of the brush as a child.

One of his favorite activities was to spend unhurried time immersed in the dramatic illustrations by N.C Wyeth and Maxfield Parrish in a collection of American classics his family owned. While summering at his grandparents’ cottage on Capitol Island, he was drawn to lobstermen and boatbuilders in the area. He had a drive to learn to paint so he could capture the rough-hewn beauty he saw in their lives.

At the age of 16, he took his first painting class with a well-known watercolor artists in Southport, Conn., his hometown. He went on to major in art at Syracuse University. After graduating in 1976, he continued his studies at the Art Students League in NYC.

His eyes were opened to the painting of light while studying with the late master Impressionist Henry Hensche at the Cape School of Art in Provincetown, Mass., in the 1980s. The Cape School was established in 1900 by Charles Hawthorne with the sole purpose of stewarding the artistic legacy of Claude Monet, the father of Impressionism.

Monet is famous in the art world for having said, “I want to paint like the bird sings.” On his quest to bring light and life into his work, he painted the haystacks in the fields near his home in Giverney, France at different times of day and throughout the year, using a palette of colors that corresponded with the natural spectrum of light.

Over time, he developed his theories of color and light, enabling painters to capture the delicate subtleties of light on a subject or in the landscape.

Hensche’s teaching had a profound impact on the direction of Boynton’s art. He learned to see and paint the light, and found his artistic voice. For over 30 years, Lee has passed on Monet’s theories of color and light to his students through his classes and workshops.

"Painting the Impressionist Watercolor," an instructional book he co-authored with Linda Gottlieb, one of his longtime students, was published by Watson Guptill in 2004.

“Painting Like the Bird Sings: An Exhibition of Watercolors and Oils by Lee Boynton” will be on display at the Southport Library in Cape Newagen during July and August.

The exhibition includes scenes of Boothbay Harbor as well as still life paintings and paintings of the figure. All are available for sale. For more about Boynton, visit www.leeboynton.com.

The Southport Memorial Library hours are Tuesday and Thursday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.