Figawi Finish, oil on canvas, 24Ó x 36Ó

For years, painter Lance Walker made his living in technical andarchitectural drafting, drawing designs for homes and for a tool and die shop's metal products. The work required precision, an analytical eye, and patience. Although his drafting days are behind him, Walker's oil paintings demand much of what he learned as a draftsman--and then some. While he must capture the authentic details of the blades of grass on a Sesuit marsh, and the fine mist that rises on a foggy morning in Port Clyde, Maine, Walker also has to soften the edges a bit, a drafting no-no.

"I'm letting go of that detail," he says in his gallery off of Route 6A in Dennis, a space he shares with Cape Cod Picture Framing and Restoration, where he works as a framer. "I've learned to soften those details."

Walker's evolution is evident in the moody mist rising between the mountains in Franconia Notch, New Hampshire, and the impressionistic feel and purple hues of Sesuit Marsh. But the draftsman in him clearly informs the perfectly rendered details of the heavily forested hills in Franconia Notch as well as in his superb nautical paintings. Walker has a rare ability to capture boats under sail with stirring immediacy--the sails on his boats, the way masterfully captured hulls slice through the sea in such works as Herreshoff's Mighty Reliance or On a West Chop Run, Sirius II, capture the full-blown drama of sailing with striking accuracy. There is nothing flat or static about this careful draftsman's work.

In other paintings, such as Sunrise Over Ten Pound Island and Gloucester Schooners Entering New Bedford, there is a dreamy, almost romantic feel to Walker's art, a kind of old-fashioned poignant tone. This balance is particularly noticeable in the work Walker produced during a trip to Port Clyde last fall with a group of artists from across the country. For ten days, the painters prowled the picturesque coastal town favored by Andrew Wyeth, and painted outdoors in all kinds of weather. At night, they gathered in a house for dinner and discussion. The event, dubbed "Paintapalooza," produced dozens of paintings featured in exhibits at the Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis and at Addison Art Gallery in Orleans. The whole experience exhilarated Walker. "The mission was to be around each other, and talk about technique and where art is going," continues the mostly self-taught artist. "Maine was a way to focus on painting."

"At 6 a.m., I am set up on the pier, and I'm painting," says Walker. "I had two paintings done by noon." Maine was also a place to observe how others work. For example, Maine painter Colin Page sometimes paints from photos he has taken for his landscape work, something Walker also does. But Page uploads the shots to a computer and paints from the screen, something Walker never considered. "You get a special illumination from the computer screen," Walker says.

Walker, who lives in South Dennis, came to the Cape from Pennsylvania ten years ago after deciding he wanted to live near the water. His love of the ocean--he is a surfer and frequents Coast Guard and Marconi beaches--and the area's dramatic landscape drew him here. "I paint all day," he says, "unless there are waves."

Lance Walker is represented by the Wynne/Falconer Gallery, 492 Main Street, Chatham, 508-945-2867, www.wynne-falconergallery.com, the Chatham Custom Frame Shop, 302 Orleans Road, North Chatham, 508-945-9458, and the Lance Walker Fine Art Gallery, Dennis, www.lancewalkerfineart.com.

Donna Scaglione is a freelance writer who lives in Hatchville.