CAPE MAY NJ 35 YEARS AGO

I spent a lot of time with my sketchbook and camera in Cape May in the late 1970s and early 80s.  My favorite place was the Back Harbor area, small and undeveloped and home to funky, interesting places.

Cafe Ole

Back Harbor Wharf

Lady Grace

They were exciting years for me.  Every drawing, every sketch was a new adventure, taking me one stop closer to a dream I was almost afraid to dream.

The daily dose of architecture MORE VICTORIANA

So many too choose from and so little time, but two days of Victoriana is enough.

Cape May NJ

San Francisco

San Francisco

Cape May

The daily dose of art VICTORIAN HOMES

I love Victorian architecture, especially the wide variety of intricate Victorian style homes.  In this regard I was fortunate to be living within 2 hours of Cape May NJ, a seashore resort town at the southern tip of the state, and home to one of this country's greatest collection of Victorian architecture.  In the late 1980s, collaborating with my dear friend at the Washington Street Gallery, I created a number of prints of Cape May's Victorian heritage.

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #49 CAPE MAY HOMES

Since Thanksgiving Day usually means going home, I am posting 3 Cape May homes.  Yes...we are still in Cape May.

Happy Thanksgiving

CM Green

CM Blue

CM Pink

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #48 ANOTHER DAY IN CAPE MAY

I am not ready to leave Cape May - having too much fun remembering the town and its wonderful architecture, both elegant and funky.  I have no idea if many of these places are still there.  Hopefully the Lobster House has survived.

Cape May Antiques

Cape May Lobster House- diners served on the boat

What to do with an old bank

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #47 GRAND HOTELS OF CAPE MAY NJ

It has been a long time since I've visited Cape May, so I don't know if all of these grand ladies are still there.  I suspect they are, knowing the towns love and commitment to all things Victorian.  These paintings were done in the late 70s and early 80s.

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #46 CAPE MAY NJ

It should be obvious by now that I consider any painting without a barn or farm an urban landscape.  Today we leave Boston and travel to the most southern reaches of the Jersey shore to the Victorian town of Cape May.  I spent a lot of time photographing and sketching in and around the small town, and one of my favorite places was the back bay area.  Every year there seemed to be some new unpretentious enterprise cropping up.

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #19 CAPE MAY NJ

Today I will be in New Jersey visiting friends and family.  Although I won't make it to Cape May, I will be close enough to share this painting.  The nations first sea shore resort, and now a popular vacation spot for families, Cape May is famous for its Victorian architecture, almost all of it original. 
I published 7 prints of the town during the 1980s, 3 of them featuring the towns B&Bs.

Cape May Hospitality I

Print 12x37"

$50

CAPE MAY NJ VICTORIAN - IV

I have two more Cape May streetscapes to share with you today, followed by one of my most popular posters, A Victorian Sampler. All of the houses in this print are from different towns and cities, and it will serve as an introduction to my next "series", victorian homes.


By the Sea is a collection of homes located on the ocean front in Cape May.


Jackson Street is an actual street scene in Cape May


A victorian Sampler is an open edition print...some 3000 of which have been sold. The printers proofs are long gone (the printer went out of business years ago) and I have only a few prints remaining in my files.

Most of the Cape May prints are still available and can be seen on my web site.

CAPE MAY NJ VICTORIAN - III

On one of my trips to CM I decided to explore the undeveloped areas in the NJ side of the Delaware bay, home to towns like bivalve, shellpile, and Fortesque. Once a thriving fishing port, it now remains a forgotten place with little or no marine industry. Turning off one back road onto another I suddenly found myself looking at this most amazing lighthouse, totally alone, abandoned, and without any signage or markings to identify it. I later learned it was called the East Point Lighthouse and belonged the USN. Although not in Cape May, it is close enough to be included in this tour. I have painted it with both watercolor and pastels.


East Point Lighthouse watercolor


East Point Lighthouse Pastel


Lobster House Restaurant on the back bay watercolor

We can't visit CM without seeing it's victorian architecture. This next painting is a complilation of several B&Bs in town.


B&B in Cape May watercolor

CAPE MAY NJ VICTORIAN - II

During my many visits to Cape May I met Roman, the owner of the Washington Street Gallery. We talked about art, and the possibility of collaborating on a limited edition print of a CM scene. The result was "Hughs Street", which was the first of a long series of CM prints and the beginning of a long friendship. (Many of these prints are available on my website.)

The format is the same...each original watercolor measuring aproximately 18x45" and each print 12x37"


Hughs Street watercolor


Columbia Avenue. watercolor


Stockton Place watercolor This is a wonderful street. The homes were obviously identical when first built, and over the years their appearances altered slightly, but not enough to hide their shared origin.

VICTORIAN CAPE MAY NJ

Cape May sketch

OK, it is time for a break from the political narratives and April's fools and to get back to some fun travel art.

For those who don't know, Cape May NJ is one of the nations oldest seashore resorts (may in fact be the oldest.) Located at the southern tip of the NJ shore line - in NJ and Philadelphia it is the "shore" and not the coast - this small town is home to an endless number of Victorian structures. So many that it is the town's identity theme, and all new construction in town has to adhere to strict architectural guidelines preserving this heritage.

Living less than 2 hours away from Cape May, my love of the architecture made me a frequent visitor with my sketch book and camera. Today I will post the first in a series of Cape May paintings.


classic Cape May home. watercolor aprox 20x16 Until about 30 years ago all of the homes were painted white with black or green shutters. Then the move to origingal Victorian colors began.


Windsor Hotel one of many old hotels from the early 20th century watercolor