Kids! Paint with Jersey Artist Tine Kirkland Graham Tomorrow: Saturday, August 15, at the Anchor and Palette Gallery in Bay Head, NJ

One of my younger daughter Maddie's favorite bedtime activities is to take our family through "Color My Dog Yellow," written and illustrated by Jersey artist Tine Kirkland Graham. Maddie will read a little poem about each dog and tell us where he lives... Bay Head, Cape Cod, or Morristown, to name a few. Tine has been one of our favorite local artists for a long time... Rex and I have one of her paintings in our dining room and she painted our Bay Head beach house (image on the left) years and years ago, maybe even before London and Maddie were born.

This weekend, Maddie and London and all of their beach friends will have the opportunity to paint the day with Tine in a FREE event at the Anchor & Palette Gallery on Mount Street in Bay Head, New Jersey. Trader is spending the week here with Rex's grandkids, so we'll have a house full of creativity at the beach.

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Jersey Shore Artists: Kate Leigh Cutler's New Show, "The Maritime History of the Barnegat Coast" Now Through Labor Day at the NJ Museum of Boating

This past weekend, Rex and the girls and I had the pleasure of attending a reception for our neighboring artist, Kate Leigh Cutler at the NJ Museum of Boating. Kate's show, The Maritime History of the Barnegat Coast, opened with the reception on Sunday, July 27th, and runs through Labor Day Weekend 2008. I've said it before, but now that I've seen all of the paintings in the show, I'll repeat that this study really breaks new ground (or water) for her...most of the new paintings are dark and ominous, tales of storms and shipwrecks.

I purchased the painting shown above for Rex's birthday, but there are lots of other moody Kate Leigh Cutler paintings left for you, and you'll have the rest of the summer to check it out...the show runs through September 1, 2008, at the New Jersey Museum of Boating (at Johnson Brother's Boat Works) in Bay Head, NJ.

Jersey Shore Artists: Wendy McCarthy... Mermoments Is More Than Just A Trilogy!

As I posted earlier in the week, our lovely Mermaid Swim Team has been on vacation, back at the Anchor & Palette Gallery on Mount Street in Bay Head, NJ, for local Wall, NJ, artist Wendy McCarthy's Mermoments show. Tonight, Rex, Maddie, London and I attended the opening reception and learned that Mermoments is much more than a trilogy....the ambitious artist painted three more in the series for this week's show, and has a total of twelve in the works for a Mermonths calendar!

I snapped a photo of the amazing Mermaid Cocktail Party (above). Wendy uses her entire family as mermodels...that's her daughter with the polka dot bikini! While we don't have a space in either of our homes that is grand enough to hang the original painting, I know that our family will have to own a giclee (print). The Mermaid Swim Team for the girls, the Mermaid Cocktail Party for the Roxiticus Desperate Housewives!

Mermoments opened with tonight's reception at the Anchor & Palette and runs through August 4th on Mount Street in Bay Head, NJ.

The Mermaid Swim Team Takes A Vacation from Our Bay Head Beach House...Wendy McCarthy's Show at the Anchor & Palette Opens Friday Night, July 25th!

Almost two months ago, Rex and I wandered into the Anchor & Palette Gallery on Mount Street in Bay Head, NJ, and walked out with the Mermaid Swim Team by local Wall, NJ, artist Wendy McCarthy.

Since then, Maddie and London have been waking up on weekends with a smile to greet the lovely Mermaid Swim Team in their "Rainbow Room" in our Bay Head beach house.

But starting this past Sunday, our Mermaid Swim Team has been on vacation! The Mermaid Swim team is part of the Mermoments trilogy that Wendy McCarthy created for her show at the Anchor & Palette gallery. Mermoments opens with a reception at the Anchor & Palette this Friday night, July 25th, and runs through August 4th on Mount Street in Bay Head, NJ. We met artist Wendy McCarthy, who happened to be at the Anchor & Palette on the day we discovered the Mermaid Swim Team...she was so pleased to be there when the first of her beautiful Mermoments paintings was sold. Wendy put a lot of love into the painting, but she could see we would give it a good home.

Rex, London, Maddie & I will be at the opening reception on Friday night...hope to see you there!

Jersey Shore Artists: Kate Leigh Cutler's New Show, "The Maritime History of the Barnegat Coast" Opens This Weekend at the NJ Museum of Boating

Our neighboring artist, Kate Leigh Cutler, has a new show opening on Sunday, July 27th, that really breaks new ground (or water) for her: The Maritime History of the Barnegat Coast. At least in the peek I've seen, her new paintings are dark and ominous, tales of storms and shipwrecks.

I purchased the painting shown above for Rex's birthday, but there are lots of other moody Kate Leigh Cutler paintings left for you. Rex, London, Maddie and I are planning to attend the opening reception on Sunday, July 27th from 5-8pm. If you can't make it to the opening on Sunday night, the show runs through September 1, 2008, at the New Jersey Museum of Boating (at Johnson Brother's Boat Works) in Bay Head, NJ.

She Sells Sea Shells Down by the Seashore: Kate Leigh Cutler's Amazing Portrait of My Girls in Bay Head, New Jersey

Jersey Shore Artists: Kate Leigh Cutler, The Maritime History of the Barnegat Coast, NJ Museum of Boating

Our neighboring artist, Kate Leigh Cutler, has a new show that really breaks new ground (or water) for her: The Maritime History of the Barnegat Coast. At least in the peek I've seen, her new paintings are dark and ominous, tales of storms and shipwrecks.

The show starts with an opening reception on Sunday, July 27th from 5-8pm, and runs through September 1, 2008, at the New Jersey Museum of Boating (at Johnson Brother's Boat Works) in Bay Head, NJ.

P.S. -- Today is Rex's birthday, and up until about an hour ago, the girls and I were empty-handed. Then we put a sand castle butter yellow cake in the oven and went over to Katie's Shell Cottage Studio to buy Storm Torches, the painting in the picture above. The cake didn't turn out so well from a visual perspective, but it's going to be delicious!

Best of Bay Head, New Jersey: Father's Day Weekend Recap

Rex and the girls and I had an absolutely glorious Father's Day Weekend at our beach house in Bay Head, New Jersey.

We took a Van de Kamp half-day off of school and work, singing along with Hannah Montana ("If we were a movie, you'd be the right guy, and I'd be the best friend, who you'd fall in love with in the end we'd be laughing, watching the sunset, fade to black, show the names, play the happy song") and Bruce Springsteen ("Girls in their summer clothes, pass me by....") on the iPod Classic as we beat the traffic heading down to the beach on the Garden State Parkway and Route 35. The girls painted seashells while I drank seasonal summer ales (including a tasty new one from Blue Moon called Honeymoon) and dropped EntreCards on our newly painted porch (see Point Beach Painting). We wandered down to check on Theresa's South, where we were hoping to have Father's Day Dinner on Sunday, but it is still closed and will not be open for another couple of weeks....we will try again for Rex's birthday at the end of the month.

That evening, Rex cooked his last meal of the weekend, a real treat for my Jedi Clam Eaters…two different types of clams from the Crab Shack in Brick, NJ: two pounds of traditional steamers and 50 grilled littlenecks and topnecks, with lemon butter for dipping.


Despite the weather forecast warning of afternoon showers, Saturday was the perfect day for Art in the Park, and we found a great deal of talent (some of which we took home with us) this year. London found three prints from William Bunting to give as gifts, including this school bus for Busdriver Dan.

Best of Bay Head, NJ: Art in the Park is this Saturday, June 14th!

The weather forecast is looking pretty nice for this year's Art in the Park celebration in Bay Head, New Jersey. Mid-70s, with just a chance of showers and thunderstorms on Saturday, and low 80s and sunny on Father's Day Sunday. Unless it rains, Art in the Park 2008 will be held this Saturday, June 14th, from 10am to 4pm in Centennial Park (use the municipal parking lot just off Bridge Avenue). In case the showers and thunderstorms prove to be a problem, the rain date is Father's Day Sunday, June 15th.

Join Rex and the girls and me at Art in the Park! There will be music playing all day long, and you can check out the following local Jersey Shore artists:

• George Allsopp from Brick, NJ -- Oils & Acrylics
• Patricia Arroyo from Neptune City, NJ -- Pastels, Watercolors, Oils
• Mary Jo Austin from Lavallette, NJ -- Oils & Acrylics
• Al Barker from Bordentown, NJ -- Watercolors (his painting, "Summer Beach" is shown at the top of this post and is available at the Anchor & Palette Gallery on Mount Street in Bay Head, NJ)
• Lisa Begin-Kruysman from Bay Head, NJ -- Acrylics
• Ken Bernhard from Bridgewater, NJ -- Watercolors
• Lisa C. Budd from West Creek, NJ -- Watercolors
• William Bunting from Iselin, NJ -- Oils
• Beverly Canham from Manchester, NJ -- Oils, Watercolors
• Miroslaw Chelchowski from Laurence Harbor, NJ -- Watercolors, Pencil
• Joy Clayton from Howell, NJ -- Oils, Acrylics, Watercolors
• Carol Colvin from Toms River, NJ -- Watercolors, Pastels
• Marie Demarco from Wall, NJ -- Pastels
• Catherine Detrich from Middletown, NJ -- Watercolors
• Donna Ferrante from Spring Lake, NJ -- Watercolors
• Joel Garh from Pt. Pleasant, NJ -- Pen & Ink
• Alexander Gletow from Brick, NJ -- Watercolors
• Beverly Golembeski from Seaside Park, NJ -- Watercolors, Acrylics
• Ann Hayes from Toms River, NJ -- Watercolors
• Andrew Huntley-Robertson from Summit, NJ -- Oils
• Paula Kolojeski from Princeton, NJ -- Pastels
• Steve Lambert from Manchester, NJ -- Oils
• Jack Loder from Brick, NJ -- Acrylics, Oils
• Rober A. Loder, Jr. from Bay Head, NJ -- Acrylics
• Lise Masson from Howell, NJ -- Oils, Watercolors
• Ramona Maziarz from Middletown, DE -- Pen & Ink
• Bert McNomee from Toms River, NJ -- Watercolors
• Philip Meyer from Totowa, NJ -- Oils
• Pauline Mickle from Pt. Pleasant Beach, NJ -- Watercolors
• Sheila Mickle from Brick, NJ -- Calligraphy, Pen & Ink
• Mary Monagle from Spring Lake, NJ -- Watercolor, Mixed Media
• Raymond Moran from Toms River, NJ -- Watercolors
• Ninetta Nappi from North Bergen, NJ -- Watercolors
• Demetrius Patterson from Tinton Falls, NJ -- Acrylics
• Virginia Perle from Toms River, NJ -- Watercolors
• Ellen Ricci from Toms River, NJ -- Watercolors
• Tracy Roccanova-Miller from Brick, NJ -- Watercolors, Giclee Prints
• Gloria Salmestrelli from Seaside Park, NJ -- Oils
• Ellen Scharfenberg from Toms River, NJ -- Watercolors
• Sal Sorce from Manahawkin, NJ -- Acrylics, Oils
• Amanda Viggiano from Pt. Pleasant, NJ -- Acrylics, Oils
• Susan Wagner from Pt. Pleasant, NJ -- Acrylics, Watercolors
• Tom Williams from Valley Forge, PA -- Oils, Prints
• Gregory Zach from Wall, NJ -- Oils
• Joanne Zezula from Brick, NJ -- Watercolors

Bay Head NJ Artists: Kate Leigh Cutler

One of our neighbors in Bay Head, Kate Leigh Cutler, is a fabulous artist. She did one painting of our girls several years back that I will post here soon, and has promised to have her newest painting of them complete when we return to the beach for Father's Day Weekend 2008. For now, I'll leave you with another Kate Leigh Cutler original painting of one of the neighbor boys surfing near Mount Street Beach in Bay Head, New Jersey.

Best of Bay Head, NJ: Art in the Park on Saturday, June 14th, 2008

Every year, Rex and I take the girls out to Centennial Park (use the municipal parking lot just off Bridge Avenue) in Bay Head, New Jersey, for a dose of Art in the Park. This year, Art in the Park is scheduled for Saturday, June 14th (raindate June 15th) from 10am to 4pm, with music playing all day long, and featuring the following local Jersey Shore artists:

• George Allsopp from Brick, NJ -- Oils & Acrylics
• Patricia Arroyo from Neptune City, NJ -- Pastels, Watercolors, Oils
• Mary Jo Austin from Lavallette, NJ -- Oils & Acrylics
• Al Barker from Bordentown, NJ -- Watercolors (his painting, "Summer Beach" is shown at the top of this post and is available at the Anchor & Palette Gallery on Mount Street in Bay Head, NJ)
• Lisa Begin-Kruysman from Bay Head, NJ -- Acrylics
• Ken Bernhard from Bridgewater, NJ -- Watercolors
• Lisa C. Budd from West Creek, NJ -- Watercolors
• William Bunting from Iselin, NJ -- Oils
• Beverly Canham from Manchester, NJ -- Oils, Watercolors
• Miroslaw Chelchowski from Laurence Harbor, NJ -- Watercolors, Pencil
• Joy Clayton from Howell, NJ -- Oils, Acrylics, Watercolors
• Carol Colvin from Toms River, NJ -- Watercolors, Pastels
• Marie Demarco from Wall, NJ -- Pastels
• Catherine Detrich from Middletown, NJ -- Watercolors
• Donna Ferrante from Spring Lake, NJ -- Watercolors
• Joel Garh from Pt. Pleasant, NJ -- Pen & Ink
• Alexander Gletow from Brick, NJ -- Watercolors
• Beverly Golembeski from Seaside Park, NJ -- Watercolors, Acrylics
• Ann Hayes from Toms River, NJ -- Watercolors
• Andrew Huntley-Robertson from Summit, NJ -- Oils
• Paula Kolojeski from Princeton, NJ -- Pastels
• Steve Lambert from Manchester, NJ -- Oils
• Jack Loder from Brick, NJ -- Acrylics, Oils
• Rober A. Loder, Jr. from Bay Head, NJ -- Acrylics
• Lise Masson from Howell, NJ -- Oils, Watercolors
• Ramona Maziarz from Middletown, DE -- Pen & Ink
• Bert McNomee from Toms River, NJ -- Watercolors
• Philip Meyer from Totowa, NJ -- Oils
• Pauline Mickle from Pt. Pleasant Beach, NJ -- Watercolors
• Sheila Mickle from Brick, NJ -- Calligraphy, Pen & Ink
• Mary Monagle from Spring Lake, NJ -- Watercolor, Mixed Media
• Raymond Moran from Toms River, NJ -- Watercolors
• Ninetta Nappi from North Bergen, NJ -- Watercolors
• Demetrius Patterson from Tinton Falls, NJ -- Acrylics
• Virginia Perle from Toms River, NJ -- Watercolors
• Ellen Ricci from Toms River, NJ -- Watercolors
• Tracy Roccanova-Miller from Brick, NJ -- Watercolors, Giclee Prints
• Gloria Salmestrelli from Seaside Park, NJ -- Oils
• Ellen Scharfenberg from Toms River, NJ -- Watercolors
• Sal Sorce from Manahawkin, NJ -- Acrylics, Oils
• Amanda Viggiano from Pt. Pleasant, NJ -- Acrylics, Oils
• Susan Wagner from Pt. Pleasant, NJ -- Acrylics, Watercolors
• Tom Williams from Valley Forge, PA -- Oils, Prints
• Gregory Zach from Wall, NJ -- Oils
• Joanne Zezula from Brick, NJ -- Watercolors

The Mermaid Swim Team of Bay Head, New Jersey

Rex and I just wandered into the Anchor & Palette Gallery on Mount Street in Bay Head, NJ, and walked out with the Mermaid Swim Team by local Wall, NJ, artist Wendy McCarthy.

Actually, that's not quite true. We purchased the Mermaid Swim Team, which is part of the Mermoments trilogy that Wendy McCarthy is working on for her show at the Anchor & Palette from July 25th through August 4th on Mount Street in Bay Head, NJ. We're planning to hang it in the girls' bedroom in our beach house for the summer, but since we probably won't be at the beach for a couple of weekends, we left it at the Anchor & Palette for you and our neighbors to enjoy.

An extra special treat...we met artist Wendy McCarthy today...she was so pleased to be there when the first of her beautiful Mermoments paintings was sold. Wendy put a lot of love into the painting, but she could see we would give it a good home.