View from the Point
A twilight view from Herring Point in Cape Henlopen State Park overlooking Delaware's "Great Dune",
the National Harbor of Refuge Outer Breakwater Lighthouse and one of the Cape May-Lewes Ferry Boats
the National Harbor of Refuge Outer Breakwater Lighthouse and one of the Cape May-Lewes Ferry Boats
The View from the Point
by Ellen Rice
by Ellen Rice
I first stood in this spot overlooking Delaware's Great Dune in the early 1970s with my late husband on a stormy, cold, cloudy, blustery day. The next time I would stand there would be 40 some years later under entirely different circumstances.
Back in the early '80s, we'd been wandering around, first Rehoboth for pizza, then in Cape Henlopen State Park to watch the waves roll in from Herring Point. I had my first SLR camera with me and was thrilled when the pictures came back. Despite the weather, they were good and I vowed to paint one of the scenes.
Fast forward to 2014. Now a professional artist with my own art gallery in a town not far away, I found myself back in the exact same spot taking photos of the view, but this time with a specific project in mind.
I'd been asked to paint a commission for PNC Financial and produce 400 prints for them to give to their best clientele. The wound up having requests for more, so the edition became 450, all gone within days.
I wanted to make this painting memorable, something their clientele would be proud to have in their homes and had an idea. They'd ask that it be sunny, with bright green spring grasses and I had an idea.
There is something I had seen over the years that I thought would be fun, though difficult to either get another glimpse of or portray. It took many visits to that spot over several weeks to view it long enough to get it right. Photos don't do it justice - showing both the lighthouse and the ferry boat with a special illusion that only happens when the light is just right.
Herring Point overlooks the southernmost juncture of the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. At that juncture, you can see the Atlantic Ocean, the National Harbor of Refuge Outer Breakwater Lighthouse, and a little bit of the bay beyond a breakwater (stone barrier) which creates the National Harbor of Refuge for ships and boats going in and out of the bay to dock in Lewes, Delaware.
There is a phenomena that occurs when the lighting is just right and a ferry boat is coming in or out of the Delaware Bay. Do you see it? A mirage makes it look like the ferry is floating above the water.
The painting and its prints were a great success. Presented to the bank's clients in three locations on three formal occasions, first in Wilmington taking up the entire 17th floor of the bank, and then nearby in Rehoboth Beach at the country club. Over the next two months, they requested the entire 450, demand was so high. I heard later that it had been years since they'd had demand for so many.
That made my heart sing - and it helped my gallery at a very crucial time, when road construction had all but shut my doors.
I do have a few full size Artist Proofs and some smaller gicle'e proofs available for anyone else who appreciates the view from Herring Point. Just click on the button above to see those options, and enjoy.
Ellen
Back in the early '80s, we'd been wandering around, first Rehoboth for pizza, then in Cape Henlopen State Park to watch the waves roll in from Herring Point. I had my first SLR camera with me and was thrilled when the pictures came back. Despite the weather, they were good and I vowed to paint one of the scenes.
Fast forward to 2014. Now a professional artist with my own art gallery in a town not far away, I found myself back in the exact same spot taking photos of the view, but this time with a specific project in mind.
I'd been asked to paint a commission for PNC Financial and produce 400 prints for them to give to their best clientele. The wound up having requests for more, so the edition became 450, all gone within days.
I wanted to make this painting memorable, something their clientele would be proud to have in their homes and had an idea. They'd ask that it be sunny, with bright green spring grasses and I had an idea.
There is something I had seen over the years that I thought would be fun, though difficult to either get another glimpse of or portray. It took many visits to that spot over several weeks to view it long enough to get it right. Photos don't do it justice - showing both the lighthouse and the ferry boat with a special illusion that only happens when the light is just right.
Herring Point overlooks the southernmost juncture of the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. At that juncture, you can see the Atlantic Ocean, the National Harbor of Refuge Outer Breakwater Lighthouse, and a little bit of the bay beyond a breakwater (stone barrier) which creates the National Harbor of Refuge for ships and boats going in and out of the bay to dock in Lewes, Delaware.
There is a phenomena that occurs when the lighting is just right and a ferry boat is coming in or out of the Delaware Bay. Do you see it? A mirage makes it look like the ferry is floating above the water.
The painting and its prints were a great success. Presented to the bank's clients in three locations on three formal occasions, first in Wilmington taking up the entire 17th floor of the bank, and then nearby in Rehoboth Beach at the country club. Over the next two months, they requested the entire 450, demand was so high. I heard later that it had been years since they'd had demand for so many.
That made my heart sing - and it helped my gallery at a very crucial time, when road construction had all but shut my doors.
I do have a few full size Artist Proofs and some smaller gicle'e proofs available for anyone else who appreciates the view from Herring Point. Just click on the button above to see those options, and enjoy.
Ellen
