The following is submitted by the artist, September 2003

Charles Wilder Oakes was born in Rockland, Maine, on August 8th 1956, and raised in the near by fishing village of Port Clyde, where generations of his family have made their living from the sea. Located at the southern-most tip of the St. George peninsula, with Monhegan Island only about 9 miles off shore, Port Clyde has always been a community known for it's rugged individualism. Today the artist lives in nearby Spruce Head.

Such gifted artists as, Robert Henri, Rockwell Kent, and three generations of the Wyeth family, have all come to Port Clyde on their way to Monhegan, or else settled nearby. The fact that Andrew Wyeth was often seen sketching or painting around tow...