Steve Witucki remembers precisely how it happened — how he discovered that he was an artist. His wife, Michelle Witucki, was selling some of her pieces at a shopping mall kiosk and asked that Steve tend the kiosk for a while so she could go home (they live in Rogers City, Mich.) and tend to some chores.

Witucki is amazingly versatile. He works in paints and inks, in glass, in wood. He'll airbrush a wildlife scene on the side of your pickup or design a logo for your business card and letterhead. He'll paint a mural on your business's building or etch a custom scene on a set of glass goblets.

He'll carve a ship model or craft a fireplace mantle. He has done cabin entrances, he can decorate furniture, and he has restored a statue in the Cross of the Woods shrine in Indian River, Mich., a project he is especially proud of.

He can turn out lovely etched-glass suncatchers like a machine — which he most certainly is not; he just likes to work. "I like variety," he says. "It keeps me motivated."

Maritime themes dominate Witucki's work, and for good reason: he's a sailor.

He has sailed the Great Lakes for 31 years, most recently as a wheelsman (a position now known as able-bodied seaman, utility) on the the Great Lakes Fleet's 1,004-foot Edwin H. Gott. The Gott and other lakers feature prominently in much of his work, and the Gott also serves occasionally as the place where he crafts his work.

When he's not on watch, he sometimes works at a bench on the mate's platform; that's where he does much of his etching, using an air compressor and drill with a diamond bit to draw in the glass. It's unforgiving work. "Once you make a mark," he says, "there's no looking back."

Witucki took a few art classes in high school, but was not recognized — even by himself — as a candidate for a career in art. (That distinction went to a girl named Sarah, as he recalls.) And to this day he remains strictly self-taught. And absolutely fearless. "When someone asks me to do something I've never done before," he says, "I don't ask, `How am I going to do that?' I just do it."

He has an artist's eye, and the visual memory of a super computer. If he has seen a ship once, even months earlier, he can pull up the mental file on demand and draw the ship right on the spot.

He insists that he is an artist first, a businessman second. "If I did my art just for money, my art would fall," he says. In fact, he is pretty generous with his work. For example, for the past three years he has donated pieces to the Lake Superior Marine Museum Association in connection with its annual Gales of November event.

On the other hand, there clearly is a commercial aspect to his work, one that he hopes to develop further once his days on the lakes are over. He has good reason to expect success.

"His pieces sell really well," says Gina Wuorinen, co-owner and manager of Lake Superior Nautical in Duluth. "Steve is a really popular artist."

Wuorinen is a big fan of Witucki's work, and they have a friendly, supportive relationship, staying in touch by cell phone and meeting when they can to exchange materials — finished pieces from Witucki, glass and other materials from Wuorinen.

Evidence of Witucki's passion abounds on the Gott. The vessel bears his paintings of other boats and maritime scenes. Even some of the safety signs show an unmistakable Witucki touch. But, oddly enough, his private quarters (with only 21 people now required to sail this formidable vessel, everyone now has private quarters) have no trace of his work.

"I don't do this for myself," Witucki says. "Some of it's for customers. But it's for friends and family first. They're the ones who have supported me and watched me grow."