When Martin Ahearn, a graduate of Vesper George School of Art, moved to Rockport about 40 years ago he studied with Carl Peters and Emile Gruppe in his efforts to make the transition from advertising to fine art. "In advertising, everything must be very specific," explains Ahearn. "With paintings, you're more interested in the mood and putting feeling into it." Ahearn, who has painted in a variety of locations from Cape Ann to Alaska, Hawaii to Scotland, England to Ireland, works almost exclusively in watercolor, enjoying the "spontaneity of the medium and its freshness." Known for his dramatic skies, Ahearn captures the excitement of everyday places with compositions that often include low horizons reminiscent of old Dutch landscapes or American Luminist paintings.
