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Avalon Lifeboat, watercolor & ink. (Sold)

Growing up outside Philadelphia, our family would spend a week at the Jersey shore each summer. I lived for those weeks! The smell of the salt air, the cries of the seagulls, jumping and diving the waves for hours - these are memories that run through my dreams and have inspired my art since I was a kid. Painting on the beach was one of the reasons I became an artist.

One of my first beach paintings (probably age 10)

Fast forward to 2022, and a week at Avalon, NJ. This was the year we experienced a strange phenomenon called "upwelling"* which made the water very cold and resulted in my spending more time painting than swimming.

Our walk through the maritime forest, Avalon, NJ

We had long walks to the beach, but it was worth it to experience the sandy path through a stunning and dense maritime forest that has grown up in the dunes. Our walks were filled with the sounds of cicadas, hawks & seagulls, and with the warm smells of cedar, bay and pine. We appreciated the forest for its shade and for the protection it provides the barrier island so vulnerable to storms and flooding. (You can see photographs of the famous flood of 1962 that devastated the Jersey shore at the Avalon Historical Society.)

Beach Path, watercolor & ink (looking back at the dunes and forest from the beach) Available.

Edge of the Dunes, watercolor. Available.

In case you'd like to see this path, it the 48th Street beach in Avalon. 

Avalon Lifeboat, watercolor & ink. (Sold) 

We had dramatic skies with tall cumulus clouds most days.

Distant Storm, watercolor. Available.

We were told to get out of the water due to risk of lightening as a thunderstorm passed over Ocean City to the north of us. 

Morning Ocean, watercolor. Available.

Breakfast, Low Tide, watercolor & ink. Available.

In the mornings the ocean is often yellowish green and the sandpipers come to feed as the tides change. The crabs seemed more plentiful this year which might explain the large number of birds we noticed on the beach. We also saw dolphins swimming by from time to time.

One morning we visited the Wetlands Institute situated in the marshes near Stone Harbor.

New Jersey Wetlands, watercolor & ink. Available.  The view from the turret on the top of the Institute.

It's a fantastic place to learn about the ecology of the salt marsh. There are guided tours, osprey nesting cameras, terrapin turtle and horseshoe crab exhibits, docks, and beautiful views. The building itself is beautiful and looks more like a historic house than a museum or lab.

New Jersey Salt Marsh, watercolor & ink. Available.

I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to visit the Jersey shore often over the years. I have seen changes for the better (increased appreciation of the salt marshes, protection of the dunes, increased bird life) and the worse (ongoing development and construction, climate change). I hope my art can inspire us to protect and preserve these fragile spaces - salt marshes, dunes and maritime forests - so that future generations may enjoy the shore as well.

Footnote:

*Upwelling is where the prolonged high temperatures create winds that stir the cold water up from the bottom of the ocean. Ironically, global warming caused the water to be so cold we could only swim for short periods of time. By cold I mean "Maine cold," about 58 degrees farenheit in the mornings and only up to 62 degrees F. some afternoons. Normal water temps would be at least 70 degrees F. in August.