This is the point where boat name painting becomes athletic,” says Eastport artist Cindy Fletcher-Holden just before extending herself out over the water to get a name just right. On that sunny afternoon in May, she carefully and precisely settles into the most comfortable upside-down position possible before painting the boat name and graphic on a Back Creek trawler.

To my knowledge, Cindy is the only artist on the Chesapeake who takes boat-name painting commissions for boats on the water. And the only one who creates “from scratch” (i.e., no stencils), by free-hand drawing the name and any related graphic in pencil on the boat followed by hand painting them to spectacular effect.

I know of only two other Bay artists who occasionally do hand painted boat names: Merrilyne Hendrikson, of Accent Graphics in Eastport, and Steve “Kaptain Krunch” Smith, of Krunch Lettering in Deltaville.

Fletcher-Holden says that she was influenced greatly as a child by her artist grandfather. She “knew she would grow up making art.” And, indeed, she has become very well known for her large and small oil paintings on canvas, many of which have maritime themes. Her much in-demand commercial work includes murals, decorative painting, and, of course, boat graphics.

While vinyl pressure sensitive graphics for boats have become more common than the hand painted variety in recent years, Fletcher-Holden’s success confirms there is a significant segment of the boating community that still seeks an artist to hand-paint the name and graphics on a new boat, because getting the boat’s name just right is a very personal and important decision for every boat owner.

For more on the art of Cindy Fletcher-Holden, visit www.fletcherart.com.