Mr. Michael Skinner, 82, of Meaford, Ontario, passed away unexpectedly from a recently diagnosed aggressive cancer on Sept. 22, 2021. Michael and his longtime partner, Robyn Hunter, lived in the Mt. Prospect neighborhood of Onancock for 15 years until their return to Canada in 1998. He was well known on the Eastern Shore for watercolors of boating and creek scenes, many sold in local galleries. When not on the Shore, he was sailing in the Bahamas where his art took on a vibrant island feel.
Michael began working with his friend, Pam Barefoot, founder of Blue Crab Bay Co., in the early 1990s, producing a colorful map of the Chesapeake Bay. That led to watercolors for product labels featuring barnacles, skipjacks, crabs, clams, and beach scenes for spices and nuts in the company’s specialty food line. According to Aileen Joeckel, former retail manager at Blue Crab Bay, “Pure delight went into Michael’s label art, which inspired our products to be top sellers on specialty shop shelves.”
Along with his enormous artistic talent, Michael had a wonderful sense of humor and will be remembered for his infectious laugh.
