MARINE ART
"Black Ball Packet Orpheus Leaving East River N. Y." catches the vessel ho ve- to off the Battery to pick up her boat prior to setting out on her lransA tlantic passage to Liverpool, on a breezy northwest morning 150 years ago. Courtesy Kennedy Galleries.
Vicar of Bray in Yerba Buena Cove during the Gold Rush, November 1849. I had the steamer New World painted in. Then the librarian from the muse um came over and told me that the New World hadn't arrived here until man y months after the Vicar. Well I had to take the whole bloody thing out, and after some more careful research painted in the sidewheel steamer Senator. She was there all right, and I believe in getting a thing right. I feel that if I don't have it right, then it' s not worth doing. In 1975 we moved to Potomac, Maryland, and I acquired a st udio in Georgetown. Our home isn ' t on the water, but gardening is a passion of mine, and the soil is very rich. I also love to fish, and the Chesapeake isn't very far. And of course there is the business of making prints of my paintings-a business I run myself. Thus I am totally responsible for the quality and ethics of my prints. High-quality fine art prints are never produced by accident. In order to produce prints that convey the varying characteristics and textures of each individual painting a select number of color plated , custom-made paper, and specially formulated inks are used, under the direction of the master
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ASMA NEWS
printer. The credi tabilit y of the prints is kept through a strictly limited edition, made under these controls, after which the plates are destroyed. I sign and number each print. "South Street By Daylight " and "The Schooner Yacht America" are sold out and the collectors price is $1000. I like to think this is good busi ness for the buyer, as well as myse lf! Painting is my first love, and I hope that I can maintain my momentum. I have n't reached my peak yet. I've really got to loosen up . I want to achieve a loose free-flow feeling while !T)aintaining accuracy. Incidentally, I make all the frames for my paintings. I enjoy working with the wood and making a frame that is really suitable for the painting. What next? I wa nt to get outside and paint, I've been too long shut up in this damn studio . And I think I'd like to teach th at kind of painting. As a st udent , I was tau ght to go outside and paint, where everything is happening. There are very few people today willing or able to teach the fundamentals of drawin g, perspective and art expressed directly from life. The loser is the aspiring young a rtist. Maybe the Society of Marine Artists will do something about that! .t
The American Society of Marine Artists now exists as an independent nonprofit corporation, under the pres idency of Charles Lundgren . This new organization, which found its beginnings through the National Maritime Historical Society, is dedicated to public education, setting standards and offering opportunity to aspiring artists in this most lively field. Charter memberships at $25 are invited, from both art ists and those who enjoy marine art. Charter membership does not, of course, constitute acceptance as an Academician or Artist Member. These determinations will be made followin g the Society's First Annual Exhibition, to be held at the U.S. Customshouse Exhibition Gallery in the World Trade Center, New York, from October 16 through November 15. A most successfu l marine art show was held with the co-sponsorship of the National Society as a highlight of National Oceans Week in Washin gton D.C. , April 16-23 . Thirty-four paintings were exhibited, ten of which are now on loan for a revo lvi ng ex hibition in the House Merchant Ma rine and Fisheries Committee Room , through the courtesy of Congressman John M. Murphy, who spoke at the opening recep tion . Inquiries and membership applications may now be sent to ASMA, P.O. Box 211 , Mamaroneck, N. Y. 10543. MARYANNE MURPHY Executive Director
SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1978