MATTITUCK--Cruising Sound Avenue at 45 mph, it's easy to miss the beauty indigenous to the North Shore. It's also easy to miss the black-and-white sign reading "Max Moran, Artist." But don't worry -- he's there, and he's capturing the beauty.

The local artist, formerly a street painter in New York City, paints mostly local scenery now. "[My subjects] choose me," Mr. Moran said Tuesday, "Looking is a language."

He frequently sees something in nature so beautiful, he'll stop to try and "arrest a moment," he noted, even though, through his humble nature, he'll wonder, "Who am I to try and capture that?"

"But you try," he said, and his efforts are often successful -- the proof hangs at Love Lane Gallery in Mattituck.

Mr. Moran has lived in a variety of towns along the North Shore since the mid-1990s. He typically paints 20 finished canvases in a season, which runs from approximately July to September. The prolific painter has produced many works highlighting the North Shore -- including "Picozzi's Dock," "Peconic Bay Boulevard in Spring" and "North Fork Potato Truck" -- and his work has previously been displayed at various local shows, including one at Martha Clara Vineyards.

One of his favorite local pieces was painting the Regina Maris, the beautiful boat towed out of Greenport when it was bought by Glen Cove.

Although he has painted in Martha's Vineyard and Dublin, Ireland, Mr. Moran said he now enjoys working on the North Shore because of the "energy" and "honesty" of other North Shore artists. "New York is the cultural center of the world," he noted.

Not only does he sing the praises of his community, but he does his part to generously share the beauty he captures, adding a little beauty of his own. The artist has made several donations to local charities, including a painting he donated recently to Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport.

The painting is expected to be raffled off in a silent auction scheduled for Saturday. "They gave me great treatment and I wanted to give them something back," Mr. Moran said.

Typically, Mr. Moran donates the painting and Cecily Jaffe of Love Lane Gallery donates the frame. Another recent donation includes a painting the Northville Beach Civic Association will auction in the future to raise money for preservation purposes. "My wife Bernadette and I met Max when he was painting in Port Jefferson," said Kerry Moran of the Northville association. "We saw the name and just started talking to him. We were very impressed by his work and have followed his progress. We both love what he's doing.

"He's also really great to talk with," Mr. Moran added. "Max is like a philosopher in many ways."

The artist was raised in Ohio and his early influences included George Bellows, Mr. Moran said, as he recalled trips to the Columbus Museum of Art.

For more information on the ELIH silent auction, call the auction chairperson at (631) 765-4073 or the hospital's Community Relations Office at (631) 477-5164. For more information on the work of Max Moran, visit www.maxmoran.com on the World Wide We