North Carolina Lighthouse Art, Paintings & Outer Banks Prints
The Outer Banks are one of North Carolina’s biggest tourist draws—and for good reason. Miles and miles of narrow barrier islands, beaches, dunes, little towns and, of course, lighthouses.
I’ve vacationed there plenty of times myself.
But I also have a problem.
I like photographing buildings.
A lot.
My obsession with architectural photography is pretty well documented, and lighthouses are basically perfect subjects for me. They’re simple shapes, instantly recognizable and usually sitting in some ridiculously photogenic location. Put one against a dramatic sky and I’m happy.
So years ago I decided I wanted to photograph all of North Carolina’s major coastal lighthouses.
Easy enough.
It took me seven years.
North Carolina is a long state, and these lighthouses aren’t conveniently lined up beside an interstate. Some require ferries. Some require boats. Some are hours apart. If you think you’re going to wake up one morning and casually photograph all of them before dinner, you have seriously underestimated North Carolina’s coastline.
Eventually, though, I got them.
The 7 Major North Carolina Coastal Lighthouses
Old Baldy Lighthouse — Bald Head Island
The oldest standing lighthouse in North Carolina. Getting to Bald Head Island requires a ferry, which automatically makes photographing it more complicated than pulling into a parking lot and getting out of the car.
Currituck Beach Lighthouse — Corolla
One of my favorites because of the exposed red brick. Most people picture a black-and-white lighthouse when they think of the Outer Banks. Currituck looks completely different—which also makes it fun to paint.
Bodie Island Lighthouse — near Nags Head
The classic black-and-white horizontal stripes make Bodie Island immediately recognizable. Marshes and open sky around the lighthouse also give you plenty of room to find different compositions instead of taking the exact same photograph as everyone else.
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse — Buxton
This is the big one. The black-and-white spiral stripes of Cape Hatteras are probably the most recognizable lighthouse design in North Carolina and maybe one of the most recognizable in the country.
I’ve painted it more than once.
Of course I have.
Ocracoke Lighthouse — Ocracoke Island
Small, white and wonderfully simple. Ocracoke is almost the opposite of Cape Hatteras visually, which is exactly why I like it. You don’t need fifty architectural details to make an interesting painting.
Cape Lookout Lighthouse — Cape Lookout
The diamond pattern makes this one impossible to confuse with anything else. Getting there also takes a little more effort, which is part of the fun.
At least that’s what I tell myself while hauling camera equipment around.
Oak Island Lighthouse — Caswell Beach
Farther south than the Outer Banks, Oak Island completed my seven-year project of photographing North Carolina’s major coastal lighthouses.
Finally.
From Lighthouse Photographs to Watercolor Paintings
Of course, taking the photographs was never really the end of the project.
It was the beginning.
Over the years those photographs have turned into a growing collection of North Carolina lighthouse watercolor paintings. I’ve painted Cape Hatteras, Bodie Island, Cape Lookout, Currituck, Ocracoke and Oak Island using everything from fairly traditional watercolor techniques to poured watercolor and watercolor batik on Japanese rice paper.
Some are realistic.
Some are colorful.
Some barely behave like watercolor at all.
That’s more fun anyway.
Every one starts with my own photography. I went to these places. I hauled the camera equipment around. I waited for the light. I took far too many photographs.
And, on more than one occasion, I did all of this while my children wondered why their father needed another photograph of a lighthouse he had already photographed 75 times.
Because the light changed.
Obviously.
North Carolina Lighthouse Art & Fine Art Prints
The finished paintings are available as North Carolina lighthouse fine art prints, including artwork featuring many of the best-known lighthouses along the Outer Banks and North Carolina coast.
They make particularly good Outer Banks gifts, North Carolina coastal gifts, lighthouse gifts and beach house wall art—especially for someone who has vacationed on Hatteras, Ocracoke, Corolla or elsewhere along the coast and wants something more interesting than another souvenir T-shirt.
These are real watercolor paintings made by an actual artist from photographs I took myself.
No AI-generated lighthouse slop.
Just watercolor, paper, wax, gravity, brushes and whatever other questionable technique I decided to use that day.
Explore the paintings below, or visit my complete North Carolina lighthouse art collection for available fine art prints.
See the creation of this Cape Hatteras lighthouse online:
Ryan Fox AWS, NWS, TWSA
Ryan Fox Painting
(919) 645-8345