LOOKING FOR NOLAND’S CUT

Davis W. Morton / 2000 / oil on canvas / 16 X 24 inches

     Noland’s Island in the Potomac River is directly south of Noland’s Ferry in Frederick County, Maryland.  Approximately 200 yards southeast by boat there is a break in the island that allows a crossing at high water.  I call this break “Noland’s Cut.”

     There are parts of the Potomac River where points of access for a boat are very rare.  “Put ins” are sometimes 30 miles apart.  From the river, surrounded by the forest, these “put ins” are often hard to see when you try to find the place where you set out. Once my friend Bob and I failed to memorize good landmarks when we began our trip.  Coming back the sun was quickly going down.  With no moon we knew our fate if we missed our “put in” to ”take out.”  There would be another 20 miles of unknown current in the dark, without a road to walk to if there was trouble.

     To me, “Looking For Noland’s Cut” represents every landmark I have ever looked for and every dead end creek I have been down trying to find a passage through an island.  When looking for a landmark or a “cut,” the appearance of any shoreline not only takes on a new significance, the person looking at it becomes its missing part.  It is not just the shoreline that is transformed.

To return to this painting, please click... LOOKING FOR NOLAND'S CUT / CARD #15