Joe Batts Arm, Fogo Island 2025

18 x 32 in

acrylic on masonite

This painting is based on my visit to Fogo Island in 2017, when I was invited to give a presentation about our organic farm and my painting.

I was immediately struck by the barren, yet complex landscape of stunted trees, mossy bogs, and lichen-covered rocks strewn across ridges by retreating glaciers. I was also struck by how intimately the people of Fogo Island know their backyard. Perhaps the notion of living on an island forces one to examine a little more deeply, the place you call home, both physically and emotionally. I wanted to pay respect to this remarkable feature of Fogo Island’s inhabitants, and so I set out to try and paint their landscape in a manner that remained faithful to the actual scene, so that they might hopefully recognize the specific location.

At first glance, the landscape might seem unremarkable. No trees, mountains, or lakes to punctuate the composition, but on closer inspection, a remarkable sub-arctic ecosystem emerges, full of detail and ancient.

Landscape can have a profound effect on the collective mindset of it’s inhabitants, and to me, Fogo Island is a prime example of this notion, manifested.