For more than a decade, Midcoast Maine artist Hannah Ineson has migrated to Florida during the winter months. Ineson doesn't go for relaxation, but to explore another wilderness environment that in many ways mirrors Maine’s remotest sites.

Many people are surprised to learn that Florida contains some of the most isolated wilderness in the United States. While the state is known for its crowded coastal cities and rapidly expanding suburbs to accommodate the influx of retirees, the southern coastal areas and much of the interior is either sparsely inhabited, or has been preserved as local, state and national parks, including the unique Everglades National Park.

Like Maine, a strong Native American tribal presence still exists in the Everglades. The Seminole and Miccosukee tribes absorbed the remnants of several tribes that existed throughout the south as well as escaping slaves, all of them seeking the protection offered by the impenetrable Everglades marshes and subtropical interior. Traditional villages (not open to the public) as well as tourist-oriented businesses are visible along the two east/west corridors that cut through the wilderness.

The parks offer boardwalks, guided swamp walks, and visitor centers, and old logging roads provide access to many wild areas. Several years ago, Ineson was Artist in Residence in the Big Cypress Preserve, and extension of the Everglades Park system, which provided even more access to remote areas.

Ineson was inspired by fierce environmentalist and southwest Florida preservationist Marjory Stoneman Douglas and her 1947 book, “The Everglades: River of Grass.”

As Douglas has often been quoted, “There are no other Everglades in the world… It is a river of grass… Today Everglades is one word and yet plural. They are the only Everglades in the world.” Ineson’s oil and watercolor paintings capture the endless beauty and stark landscape of one of the world’s most compelling natural areas. She shows her Florida artwork in the Naples and Marco Island area throughout the winter months, and online at www.hannahineson.com. She also teaches watercolor workshops in both Maine and Florida.

A collection of 34 of Ineson’s Florida paintings, “The Everglades Art of Hannah Ineson,” will be on display at the Marco Island Historical Museum from October 1 through December 28. The exhibit is accompanied by excerpts from Douglas' book.

This is her third solo show for the Collier County Museum system, which includes five historical sites and museums in the Southwest Florida area.