-f
"Courageous vs. Southern Cross" oil 24x36 Mark Greene Courageous led the Australian challenger Southern Cross by a comfortable margin through all four races of the 1974 America's Cup series. Courageous is shown in the third race, well away on the 8 to JO knot breeze, while Southern Cross was jibing to round the marker.
showed a sailing barge, 30 of which have been converted for yachting or education, passing astern of a diesel-powered harbor oiler. The central tradition of marine art remains representational integrity, investing in each image, not only assiduous research of history, meteorology and sea states, but also a lifetime of boating and observing the water and sky; of reading and scouring shops for old books and dusty magazines; of travel to forgotten piers and remote backwaters; of inquiry, and swapping sea stories and enthusiasm. Time spent applying paint to canvas is often only a fraction of the time required to understand and recreate the subject. Many artists work closely with marine museums, from sense of common purpose and to support the preservation of references. Dan Perepelitza, for example, has restored models at the Peabody Museum in Salem for eight years and consulted their extensive archives on whaling for a charming series of ship portrait etchings. The World War II destroyer The Sullivans, at the center of the graphic action in ''Convoy of the Cripples,'' is berthed at the Buffalo Naval Park near artist Ray Massey's home. The Welland Canal, used by many early-century bulk carriers, resembles a working museum and is a frequent vacation haunt of Peter Rogers. His painting of the Mar/hill ex-Parker Evans ( 1908) ''Locking Through'' is disconcerting and powerful, cast in glowing blue from mercury vapor yardlights. English Admiralty records, though difficult to use, were the best reference for Mark Greene's Prince de Neufchate/. An American privateer built by Noah Brown in 1811, theNeufchate/ SEA HISTORY, WINTER 1980
outsped English frigates and captured more prizes than any ship of her time in one year. Fine modelling of her straining canvas and ingenious, restrained composition of the sky suggest her great speed. By concentrating his interest, Bob Skemp has acquired a thorough knowledge of clippers, yet his "Lookout off the California Coast" balances detail and the experience of fast sailing, with high-key color and sparkling light. The decline of the US flag in ocean transport prompted IOT Corporation to sponsor the exhibition. JOT believes that marine art could be a beckoning hand to a nation which has turned its back to the oceans, and a vivid reminder of the role of the US merchant marine in building and defending the nation. The satisfying public response and sales record also promise restoration of the respect monopolized for decades by abstract art. Grand Central Galleries, one of the leading proponents of representational art, has seen its faith in marine art justified, and has begun preparations with ASMA for the Third Annual Exhibition in late November 1980. Much credit is due Mark Greene, newly-elected president Pete Rogers, the ASMA jury and the other artists who organized the exhibition and who have labored unselfishly to create the Society. The scope and variety of the work assembled substantiated their vision of creative excitement in interpreting maritime themes . .v Mr. Sorlien was "4 to 8 ordinary" on the Texaco Illinois before earning a degree in art history. He has mounted three exhibitions of marine art as director of a comrnunity art agency in Westfield, NY on Lake Erie, where he runs the gallery "Access to the Arts. "
49