Artist's Dialog

Newlstter of NJWCS

Artist's Dialog is published three times yearly. It is available with paid dues. A featured story will be placed here as a sample of the newsletter currently out.

Winter 1998 Issue, Artist's Dialog:

"Plein Air": Painting at Pahaquarry by Burton Longenbach

     The autumn day was clear and bright, but the early haze had not yet fully burned off by the warming rays of the sun. The hilly countryside with its shadowed fingers held the cool mist in its grip. Eleven NJWCS members and two devoted wives showed up at Jean Zipser's house on Old Mine Road along the Delaware River on that October 1st morning for the Pahaquarry Paint-Out Day. Some of us left home as early as seven o'clock because of the long distance we had to travel and not wishing to spend the morning's good light for painting on the roadway. Jean's directions took us through portions of the Worthington State Forest, the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and past a now-closed historic schoolhouse.

     Jean Zipser, the president of the Pahaquarry Foundation and a super hostess, had a pot of coffee and morning snacks waiting. With warm greetings between sips of hot coffee, she gave us descriptive directions to possible painting sites; perhaps along the Delaware, possibly farther up Old Mine Road to the village of Millbrook, and maybe the setting of the house in which she was raised and presently lives, or her grandmother's vacant house up the hill.

     For some, the setting of Jean's home with its barn, garden, fences, corn crib and trees was most appealing. Others ventured onto the little used roadway behind Jean's house and up the hill to a clearing to find her grandmother's house which she had described. Known as the B. B. Van Campen farmstead, it was a focal center in the clearing surrounded by red barns of varying sizes and shape. One barn hid the pond beyond and, in reflection, was a view awaiting the painter's brush. Soon, all of us were painting, sketching or taking photographs. Silence prevailed in the painter's presence and the early morning's mist silently retreated.

     Jean Zipser and Burt Longenbach had planned the details of the paint-out beginning in early spring after Jean and Debbie Tintle had prior discussions about a painting activity. The Pahaquarry Foundation is dedicated to preserving the historical identity of the former Pahaquarry Township, an area along the Kittatinny Mountain ridge bordering the Delaware River. Until it recently merged with the neighboring Harding Township, Pahaquarry Township was the least populated registered township in New Jersey and Jean Zipser was its mayor. Invitations to participate in the paint-out were also extended by Jean to artists in Sussex and Warren Counties and in Monroe County (PA) across the Delaware. The group swelled to approximately 20 by mid-day.

     Gathering again at Jean's for a savory lunch, which she and neighboring friends had prepared, gave us the opportunity for sharing the morning's achievements, renewing or establishing friendships, and for the preparation of materials for the afternoon's painting. We took a few photographs of the group and again dispersed challenged by a newly selected site and a changed direction of sunlight. Some stayed through the day, finally packing their gear in the car for the return trip home at 4:30-5:00 p.m., while others left earlier because of commitments. All who came were exuberant in their praise of the event, the paintable nature of the place and of Jean's hospitality. Evidence of the picturesqueness of the place was that four of the group returned the following week to paint in the nearby village of Millbrook.

     Jean has made plans for a showing of the results of the day's painting and sketching at the Ridge and Valley Conservancy in Blairstown. A reception will be held on March 7 and is open to the public. (Call Jean Zipser (908) 841-9530 for directions.) Elected and associate members who participated hoped it would become an annual event. Attending were Margaret Crawford, Robert and Beverly Heyer, Richard Kaiser, Phil Kass, Burt Longenbach, Fran Maurer, Donald Nathan, Winnie O'Dougherty, Ferdinand and Phyllis Petrie, Joan Ross and Debbie Tintle. An invitation has already been extended to us to return next year. Watch for the announcement of the Ô98 Pahaquarry Paint-Out Day.

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Below:  Winnie O'Dougherty paints at the B.B.Van Campen farmstead in Pahaquarry