My Neighbor to the North

This weekend was the intake for the latest show at the Belmar Arts Council.  It's an all media show called Belmar & our neighbors, with the theme being art specifically about Belmar and the surrounding towns.  I've occasionally mentioned how it's getting hard to find things to show at the Boatworks that I haven't shown before, but I had been sitting on one older piece that will be perfect for this show.  Most of my Floating World prints have been made up scenes based on general boardwalk scenery and themes and meant to reference all boardwalks, but a few have been based on specific locations.  The above print references my favorite of the Belmar miniature golf courses from my youth.  I had done an earlier print in the series about another long gone local landmark, the Belmar Playland arcade (which had the other mini-golf course in town, on its roof), which became part of an earlier BAC show with a Belmar theme.  Someone seeing that sent me a vintage photo of the course that had been on the boardwalk, including the giant bluefish that made it stand out, influencing me to add a mini-golf themed print to the series.  It's a nice print, but hasn't had many showings since it was completed in 2010, and none in Belmar, so it was perfect for this new show.  

The Belmar & our neighbors show opens next Saturday, July 27th, with a reception from 5 to 7 pm.  It remains on display at the Boatworks during normal gallery hours through August 23, 2013.  Admission is free.