The net fishermen of Rockport, in an array of a lobster boat, yawls of colorful hues and a seaworthy white rowed boat, work aboard their crafts in the chill morning light. Local onlookers fill the scene, and the conversations over coffee would drift from fishing to social affair and politics back to fishing. The work becomes of blend of the things Thieme is known for artistically; his professional handling of light and shadow, strong natural coloration and great impasto application of his oil to canvas.
Silent and serene, the water holds on to Thieme's special ability to portray wet reflections and the soft tidal sensation of slow movement in the harbor. No power boat wake pushing through the soft light that mutes the distance across the harbor, as the sea birds glide above. Most heads are down, looking at the tasks at hand, or just keeping a close eye on the others.
Thieme's wife, Becky, once wrote of her husband "he often says that he was born 50 years to late". Thieme longed for simpler times amid the march of progress. He worked relentlessly at his art, and became one of the premier, internationally recognized members of the Cape Ann and Rockport schools of art. He owned a reputation for establishing friendly relationships with locals and visitors alike, but would tolerate no interruptions while working at a canvas. Here, just across from "Motif #1", the pier-side Red Building that appears in many Cape Ann paintings, as significant to Rockport as Thieme himself is today.
