Category: notes


I’m down at the beach house in Ventnor, visiting the shore with the family. As always, I’m enjoying poking around the house and looking at various photos, clippings, and artwork stashed away in the closets and drawers. It always provides a nice boost of inspiration to add some content to this website. I’m going to try to add a post here for each day we stay. This is our 2nd day, and just my 1st post, so I’d better get crackin’!

Kathy, Kaye, and Mitty

Kathy, Kaye, and Mitty pose on the steps of the Ventnor house. Kathy is 6 months old. (Nice mohawk!)

Visual impressions from a fun family visit

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Vintage signage from the Breakers Hotel, Atlantic City, NJ. Taken at The Atlantic City Historical Museum, on the boardwalk at Garden Pier.

PleaseShowerSand

here’s some paintings

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On the beach

Here’s a quick preview of some watercolors I found in one of the many portfolios stashed in the upstairs closets of the Ventnor, NJ house. These folks are pretty much doing what we’ve been doing all week on the beach…

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USS Yorktown

USS Yorktown

One particularly cool exhibit on the USS Yorktown was a wall full of aircraft carrier photos, documenting dozens of ships commissioned into service during the 1st and 2nd World Wars. I noticed that many of the ships were painted in wild, blocky, patterns, and I remembered hearing about dazzle camouflage. Apparently, creative methods were employed to gain advantage in warfare:

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We visited the USS Yorktown at Patriot’s Point in Charleston, SC on President’s Day, and learned a lot about life aboard an aircraft carrier in World War II.

In addition to the requisite photos of the kids sitting in the cockpit of a fighter plane, and at the controls of the anti-aircraft weapons, I was drawn toward examples of art and design on the ship (big surprise, I know). There were insignia painted on the tails of planes, camouflage on ships, colorful award badges marked on the side of a ship, or an officer’s uniform, signs, charts and other wayfinding devices, and even a print shop on the ship.

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Apart from designing a logo for his unit, I’m not sure to what extent my grandfather’s art was put to use during his service in the Army Air Force. Hopefully, I can get some family and friends to assist in getting those answers…

Euclid's 3 Graces, 1962, 57" x 44"

Euclid's 3 Graces, 1962, 57

Ralph Maxwell, an old friend of Brubaker’s from the armed forced, suggested I send him some more of Brubaker’s art. Here are some paintings I don’t think I’ve posted here yet. These are both photos of pieces that are at the house in Ventnor, NJ. I don’t know the names, years or sizes…

Check your email for larger versions, Ralph.