CAPE ELIZABETH – Janet Ledoux set up her wooden easel and began painting at 6 a.m. Sunday.

That’s when the light was right to capture the seaweed-covered rocks off Trundy Point. The Biddeford artist rendered the rocks in thick strokes of cadmium yellow and alizarin crimson.

“If you’re a plein-air painter, it’s really all about the light,” Ledoux explained. “I prefer to paint very early in the morning or very late in the afternoon. When the light is strong overhead, it bleaches everything out.”

By 10:30 a.m., the sun was scorching, Ledoux’s painting was nearly done and the seaweed-covered rocks had disappeared beneath the rising waters of Casco Bay.

Ledoux was one of 30 artists, nearly all from Maine, who slathered on sunscreen and fanned out across town Sunday to paint some of the most beautiful landscapes anywhere.

The resulting works, of places like Kettle Cove, Portland Head Light and the Spurwink River marshes, were sold Sunday evening at the fourth annual Wet Paint Auction to benefit the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust.

The catered event at Ram Island Farm raised about $45,000 for the trust, which has permanently protected nearly 600 acres of shorelands, farmlands and woodlands since it was founded in 1985.

The trust received at least half of each winning bid, though some artists chose to give more, said Chris Franklin, executive director of the trust.

“This event really captures what we try to do,” Franklin said. “These places that we see every day — the artists make us pause and see them in a new light with fresh eyes.”

Trundy Point Preserve is one of those places.

Paul Coulombe, who lives near the seven-acre preserve, gave the $2 million property to the trust in 2008 after he removed a house from the site. Located in the Shore Acres neighborhood, it’s the largest shorefront property ever given to the trust.

It features a pocket cove, a rocky beach and signature stone ledges that extend far into Casco Bay, affording remarkable views of Portland Head Light to the north and the beacons at Two Lights State Park to the south.

The water-worn rocks look like massive chunks of driftwood except for occasional quartz outcroppings. Here and there black cormorants keep watch.

Kirk Spellman and Meghan Prentiss visited the preserve Sunday morning with their daughter, Gwen, 2, and son, Ian, 2 months. The couple rented a house in the neighborhood in part because of the preserve.

“It’s a special thing to be able to walk down to this small, secluded beach and enjoy vistas of three lighthouses,” Spellman said. “Whoever made this land accessible to everyone, it was a wonderful gift.”

Janet Ledoux agrees. Though she has been a professional artist for 30 years, Paint for Preservation 2011 was her first venture in Cape Elizabeth. She will be back.

“It’s really impressive, the sites they’ve been able to preserve,” Ledoux said, putting the finishing touches on her painting. “I’ve found new places to go.”

Staff Writer Kelley Bouchard can be contacted at 791-6328 or at:

kbouchard@pressherald.com