July 27, 2011

To the Jersey Shore

Yellow Awnings, Spring Lake, New Jersey, 1979, oil on canvas, 22 x 30 inches.


I am heading down to the New Jersey shore to visit family for a few days, and maybe get to splash in the ocean. My childhood summers were spent there, in Bradley Beach, and I have many fond memories of them. Early in my painting life I spent a summer painting the wood frame houses so abundant there. They are an emblem of a certain kind of life: lunches on the porch, bare sandy feet, outdoor showers, sunburn before we knew what SPF was. I'm hoping to say more about nostalgia as an artistic motivation...but not until next week. See you then.

6 comments:

  1. Lisa at GreenbowJuly 27, 2011 at 5:20 PM

    I have always wanted to live in one of these big ole houses. You captured this one perfectly. It becons one to come up on that shady porch for a glass of sweet iced tea. I hope you have a great vacation.

    ReplyDelete
  2. William P. E. D'EliaJuly 27, 2011 at 5:49 PM

    Who says Geometry is cold and calculating?
    Here, along with the sitting machinery of where you live,
    which seems to be waiting for you, is proof otherwise.
    As always, Outstanding!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Altoon SultanJuly 27, 2011 at 7:07 PM

    Lisa, one of my brothers has a big old house like that at the shore, though it's stucco and not wood. You feel a kind of expansiveness moving around it, and sitting on the big porch is a joy, especially knowing the ocean is nearby.
    thanks, William. I think the geometry of domestic architecture is softened by the lives inside, and didn't Freud say something about windows and doors?

    ReplyDelete
  4. William P. E. D'EliaJuly 27, 2011 at 8:25 PM

    One of the foundations of my work is to realize
    the living interiors of the tenement houses of Fall River, particularly
    the tenements of my younger self and family.
    In other words, I believe you, as I do our friend L.D..
    Not quite sure how well Freud blends into the batter.

    ReplyDelete
  5. DebbieJuly 28, 2011 at 10:56 PM

    My great grandfather built many of the chimneys in the grand old homes in Deal. The Jersey shore has always meant home and summer joy to me, specifically Loveladies in LBI. Have a good time "down the shore."

    ReplyDelete
  6. Altoon SultanAugust 1, 2011 at 9:15 AM

    Debbie, how wonderful to know that. I took a special look at the beautiful chimneys of the big old houses still standing in Deal.

    ReplyDelete