At 5 Winslow Homer Way, on a small road in Prouts, Neck in Scarborough,  you will find the magic of the Atlantic ocean rushing over jagged rocks and flat edges, where private winding paths lead to the sea. It is here that Winslow Homer, one of America’s greatest artists, made his home and studio.

Homer found the sea a subject he could study endlessly. Its natural drama held his attention for over 27 years until his death in 1910. Visiting the studio which is open to the public for the season is a special treat.

Born in 1836, Homer was an apprentice at 19 to a printer in Boston. At the John H. Buffard Lithographic firm, Homer learned the art of wood-engraving, a drawing process for newspapers and magazines before photography came into popular use. His fine line illustrations on wood blocks were used during the American Civil War in a newspaper titled Harper’s Weekly. He also did illustrations of women and children as well as Civil War scenes.

After the Civil War, Homer traveled through Europe. His watercolors of fishermen and women of England working around the sea during that time are masterpieces of the sturdy working people of that country, whose economy comes from the sea.

Returning to America, he visited the Adirondacks, painting wild life and hunting scenes. In 1875, his brother, Charles Homer came to Prouts Neck for his honeymoon. Homer came to visit and in 1883 decided to move to Maine, originally painting in his brother’s Carriage house. In 1884 Homer bought the carriage house from his brother, moved it 100 feet away from the family home to a location with more privacy, and hired John Calvin Stevens, a well known Maine architect, to add a second floor to his studio.

It is at his Prouts Neck studio that Homer did his mature work of monumental oil paintings of the sea. His heavy oils of the sea inspire awe at the largeness of the sea and the smallness of mankind. You feel this overwhelming concept yourself, as you look at the sea in real life at Prouts Neck.

Critics have said that Homer’s seascapes altered the course of American art.They have commented that his seascapes depict man against nature, but Homer remained silent about the meaning of his works. Homer was a visual storyteller. His paintings tell a story of the restless energy of the sea and its unpredictable nature. Perhaps the drama of the sea interested him, and represents his own oceanic, independent, sense of life.

Homer captured the great mystery of the sea; its beauty as well as its destructive power. One can see this in his paintings as well as in the ocean at Prouts Neck in real life. To stand on a rock ledge at Prouts Neck and see the white foam of the ocean waves rush over rocks in front of you, is to be inside a Winslow Homer painting.

Homer’s studio at Prouts Neck is worth a trip to see. It is rustic and simple. Its stark lines and austere interior reflect his New England values and style. Everything in the building is understated and built like a ship, solid and no wasted space. The floors are oak and beams which run across the ceiling of the living room provided an open space for carriages as well as living space when he used it as a home/ studio combination. The fireplace in this central room is huge and was used for heat and cooking. A porch on the second floor around the front of the building allows the viewer to see the ocean.

Homer’s use of light on water and rocks is one of his greatest gifts as an artist. He captured the power of water crashing against land. To see this distinct activity of nature as it happens in real life at his studio is awe inspiring.

Homer was a recluse and liked Prouts Neck, not only because of its natural beauty, but because of its isolation and privacy. You can see a few reproductions of his oils in a bin in a room which Homer added on the first floor to his studio in 1890, as well as some facsimiles of Harper’s Weekly newspapers which have Homer’s illustrations in them. It is interesting to see what a whole Harper’s Weekly newspaper looked like.

In addition, you can see original Homer works of art like the oil paintings titled “Weatherbeaten,” and “Sharper Shooter,” at the Portland Museum of Art because in 1976 Charles Shipman Payson gave 17 Homer works to the PMA and funded its modern brick building in 1981 designed by Henry Cobb of I.M.Pei, that opened to the public in 1983.

The Homer studio in Prouts Neck, a National Historic Landmark, was bought by the PMA in 2006 from Charles Homer Willaur, the great grand nephew of Winslow Homer, and opened to the public in 2012. In 2013 the PMA launched the “Cannon Rock Series,” a unique biennial residency program that incorporates the ways in which Homer and his studio influenced American art, history and identity. This program features a week long residency and think tank for two guest intellects and includes a series of small community conversations and a public event. The 2013 program theme was weather and its influence on art, science, and culture.The title of the series “Cannon Rock” comes from a specific site on Prouts Neck which Homer painted.

In conclusion, the Homer Studio is interesting for both scholars and the general public alike, and is worth a trip to see.

Tours of the studio take place from April through November each year. Reservations are required. Tickets may be purchased by calling  207-775-6148 or visit www.portlandmuseum.org. Children under 7 are not permitted on the tour. Limited access to the studio for guests with limited mobility. Group tours are available.

Tickets are $30 for members, $55 for nonmembers and $25. for students with I.D.s. Tour duration 2.5 hours.

Through Sept. 5: Monday and Friday, 10:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. Please note there are no tours on July 4, 2014.

Sept. 5 through Nov. 16:  Monday and Friday, 10:30 a.m., 11:45 a.m., and 2 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday,  10:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.

Tours of the Studio depart from and return to the Portland Museum of Art by van and are limited to 10 visitors.