I have been waiting and waiting to post the winner here to give you last-minute stragglers a chance to win some art. Given that there were only 15 comments to choose from (4 of which originated in the barn) your odds were darn good. That being said, I have to say that it was not an easy choice. I really wish I had 15 (er, ahem, 11, rather) to give away, but I only have one. I guess I need to be more prolific, and then equally sloppy when it comes time to spray on the Super 77. There’s hope yet for the rest of you.

For a refresher, here’s the item in question:

I chose the winner because of her beautifully written description of how this piece feels like a where and not just a what. It reminded me of a place I must want to be, since I did, after all, draw it myself. I will have to make my own way to Penobscot Bay to have a look, and see if it feels the same way to me, or if it is something you have to have steeped in for years to feel.

And now, drumroll please, the winner is:
Ms. Abby, who wrote:

Your image reminds me of the blues and greens that I delight in when I am on the coast of Maine. The islands of Penobscot Bay line up one after another, floating between water and sky; with all the seaweed and rocks and trees and fogbanks, those islands sometimes seem to fade into a series of washes, lines, blotches, and curves. I love these hills, these knobbly and almost whimsical tree-covered lumps, and wish I could always linger here where land and water meet. I have this white stairwell that is just begging for some color on the walls to juxtapose against forest and hills, just inland from the water, and that would be perfect.

I would treasure that drawing as a reminder of this place, because you have abstractly captured so much of the joy of landscape that I adore, even though you’ve never seen it. Your piece strikes me as a perfect blend of whimsy and high design, so I could dress it up quite nicely but I could also put it next to all my well-loved (read: not so new) furnishings.

It’s a damn fine piece of art, and I think it would look mighty handsome at my house.

Please contact us with directions on the where to, Abby!
And please note, for the record, that I think it would look mighty handsome at my house, too.

Congratulations!
Today is your day!
You’re off to great places!
You’re off and away!

These are the opening lines to Dr. Suess’s “Oh the Places You’ll Go,” which is Alden’s current favorite, which she (and I) have memorized pretty well. They seemed more appropriate than the opening lines to “The Gulag Archipelago,” which is the other book she’s been reading lately, and which I haven’t memorized quite as well.