MARION — John Vliet is living proof to the saying, “An old dog can learn new tricks.” With just an iPad, his car and motivation to leave the house, Vliet has been providing Tri-Town Facebook groups with digital landscapes to give the feeds of residents a breath of fresh air.

Or — as he would describe, “Like someone just came out with moisturizer and rubbed it all over a sunburn.”

Vliet lives in Fairhaven and works as an educator for crane construction safety. He shares his experiences being a crane operator for many years and travels across the country to teach. 

While he does have a degree from the shuttered Swain School of Design in New Bedford, Vliet is not trained to do digital art. His choice medium for landscapes was oil pastels, paint and all things physical. It was only three months ago when he discovered he could create everything he usually does with less hassle. 

“I realized on the phone I had the Notes App and I noticed it had a pen and — I could draw lines and that was really handy,” he said.

His move toward digital art began in early 2025 when he was visiting a scenic area and realized he had left his oil pastels at home — but he did bring his iPad. From there Vliet has used the marker feature to capture landscapes around the SouthCoast with heavy focus on the Mattapoisett and Marion. 

As printing has gotten expensive and politics has taken over everybody’s Facebook feeds, Vliet started to share his Notes App creations online to connect with friends. His artwork can be seen in between news stories about fires or the occasional missing dog.

Vliet said there’s a focus on everything but the beauty of New England and the places he captures on his iPad. He said he wants to bring back everyone who is busy in their own heads or who ignore places that are sacred to them.

“What can we bombard our souls with? What will help ground us? And to me, that’s local imagery,” he said.

When his son was an infant, Vliet used to travel to the coast to soothe him to sleep, sitting in the same spots he does to this day. With the hum of the motor and the sounds of the ocean he took that time to take himself out of everyday life to capture what was in front of him. 

Now, all it takes to get him to the coast is the promise of a free parking spot and a trip to his favorite restaurant. Using his iPad has made the process easier. 

“I’m still learning. It’s all about perspective and I’m still new to this whole thing,” he said. “Like there’s a crayon tool I discovered yesterday.”

Vliet plans to continue to work from his iPad and post his work to his Facebook page and to other SouthCoast groups — so long as nobody says anything mean.

“If someone made a disparaging remark — that’s it I’d just stop doing it,” he said.

But so far the responses from the community have been inspiring and kind.

“As an artist, I want to hold a mirror up to people so they can see themselves and they can see their love for these places,” Vliet said. “I hope that’s how it comes across.”