Alexander Nolan, born in Milwaukee in 1980, used to paint large, brightly colored works of city street fights, fantastic parties, bustling bars, and breakfast routines. Then he moved from New York City to Lubec, Maine. Now he paints forests, orchards, seascapes, and homes with backyards. “I enjoy walking through my mind as if it were a forest,” he says. The open air offers new subjects, and Nolan is painting on wood panels and on a smaller scale. That way he can capture his characters quickly, intuitively, and move on to the next. Rabbits, chickens, lobsters, and whales share the scene with Nolan’s human subjects. —Clara Molot