Wish You Were Here - Solo Exhibition

Exhibit Dates:     Wednesday, June 4 through Saturday, June 28, 2008 

Opening Reception
Saturday, June 21, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.; free & open to the public

Summer High Point by Elaine Felice 

Anyone who ever spent some serious beach time at the Jersey Shore will recognize certain images:  the towering life guard stand, those "In Memory Of" boardwalk benches that face the ocean; the parked rental bike; the town lifeboat or landmark hotel still open for business.

Those are just some of the subjects that have made artist Elaine Felice practically a household name among certain "town folk" and "summer people,"  as residents call themselves in South Jersey's quienticial beach communities. 

According to Felice, a self-taught artist whose career had an unusual beginning, her work reflects the constant guidence and input she receives from friends and locals concerning what they like about their Jersey towns.  She's even had requests to paint messages including a marriage proposal, on the airplane banner depicted in her painting "Summer's High Point."

"It's sort of funny, but people are very loyal to their town. They see my painting of a Cape May lifeboat and they want a painting of a boat with the name of their town."

The lifeboat has been one repeated subject, Felice says, but she has also been driven to paint certain summer rituals, such as renting bikes or relaxing in a beach pavilion. Other paintings "Welcome to Sea Isle City" and "Welcome to Avalon" depict, what else, but those familar signs that mark another summer passage – entering the town's limits after a long drive. You know, then, that your summer vacation is about to begin, as Felicie puts it.


While Felice doesn't have a particular painting "base,"  so to speak, she does have a special affinity to Sea Isle. Not only was it her late grandmother's favorite Shore town, Felice said that is where her painting career took off.

 In 1993, she was asked to paint a "companion" piece to a painting of Sea Isle lifeboat. The request came from the sister of an artist who lived far away, in Ohio, and was ill from cancer. In short order, Felice adopted the artist's signature style -- achieving texture by painting on specially-prepared masonite boards -- and was soon selling prints of the companion piece, the "box on stilts," as she now calls it, known as the old Sea Isle lifeguard chair. The print was instant hit, and her career took off. Until then, Felice said, she merely dabbled in painting.

"I thought I was just going to paint for myself and friends, and now suddenly I had a career... "   As for continuing the beach theme, Felice jokes that she has her own reasons for painting year-around from her home in West Goshen. " I love to paint pictures of the beach because that way, I can play in the sand anytime I want."  

In her first solo exhibit in Exton, Felice plans to exhibit both her original paintings and limited-edition prints that include "Summer's High Point," and "The Colonnade Inn,"  Felice's charming depiction of one of the many Victorian bed-and-breakfasts found at the Shore.  She will also be on hand at the exhibit's opening reception. Come and share your summer plans!