Marcia Cline photograph by Chris Hannant
A red-winged blackbird teeters on a blade of needlerush along a winding tidal creek. Beach towels blow on a clothesline strung between the porch posts of a weathered Nags Head cottage. A line of surfers hover on their boards in a glassy green ocean, their bodies angled eastward to watch for the next set of swells.
Using a vibrant palette of oils, painter Marcia Cline captures familiar Outer Banks scenes in a style that is anything but ordinary. Fluid strokes create a sense of movement — sea spray, a cast net in midair, flags whipping in the wind — and bold colors communicate a passion for place, something that Cline seems to carry in her bones.
Cline’s work of the “Miss Grace” rental home. painting by Marcia Cline
Her large paintings are statements, commanding attention in the hundreds of Outer Banks cottages, restaurants, and businesses in which they are found. A resident of Nags Head since 1980, Cline is a surfer and a seeker, frequently finding inspiration in the natural world. She feels deeply connected to and supported by the Outer Banks.
“This is where I’ve lived my whole adult life, and it’s where I gather my strength,” she says. “I have an advantage because I know this place so well.”
Cline captures warm, coastal colors along NC Highway 12. painting by Marcia Cline
Cline gravitates to the old, the vanishing, the still spots where there is space to breathe: wild winter beaches, well-worn cottages and buildings, wobbling wooden piers — and the farther south on NC Highway 12, the better.
A Marcia Cline painting does not just capture an Outer Banks landscape frozen in time; it conveys a feeling. “I want [my work] to matter to me and to make a connection with someone somehow,” she says. “It doesn’t matter if what connects with me is not the same thing that connects with them. What matters is that they feel good.”
To learn more about Marcia Cline’s work, call (252) 202-4711 or visit marciacline.com.
Mark our words: Whether they nod to North Carolina or were penned by its residents, these notable, quotable passages remind us of the power of speech inspired by our state.
When one stream flows into another, the two chart a new course for the future — together.
When the weather outside is frightful, one chef serves loved ones dishes so delightful.
A historic Rose Bowl pitted Duke University against Oregon State in Durham. Then, in the dark days of World War II, those same football players — and a legendary coach — joined forces to fight for freedom.
