by William Roufberg
This is what I have to say
About our trip to Cape May
Transparent water colors by the sea
To make an artist out of me
Twas May of 2011
19 women and 2 men
‘Road Scholars’ for five days
Mixing colors all ablaze
Our teacher, Barbara Cox
Explaining techniques to unlocks
Whatever talents we possess
To avoid my making a mess
Drove to the Cove to paint the ocean
To put all our gear in motion
I tried to paint the distant lighthouse
But my camera chose to photo my spouse
Returned to the Inn on Ocean Street
It’s a Victorian Hotel replete
With artifacts of the 19th century
For self, for gifts, for memory.
In our workshop we begin to see
Our paintings are improving markedly
One evening a video of Robert Wade
Water colorist of every shade
His deft brush strokes here, there, everywhere
A scene emerges to admire, to stare
But Mrs. Cox gave us a demo lesson
One trick of the trade, her confession
How to paint a forest in the snow
The class admired, my God, what a show
Take strips of tape of paper, paste;
Color over blue-green, to your taste
Pull off the tape and lo and behold
A tree-lined forest comes out of the cold
A shuttle took us to the lighthouse tower
I studied its height and the hour
Could I climb its 217 steps?
157 feet high and no nets?
The beacon may save a lost ship
But what if I made a slip?
Well I got to the top, camera ready
And then descended, barely steady.
The shuttle took us to Dr. Physics’ mansion: a tour
This doctor who avoided any medical cure
Rather, his investments in real estate
Made him millions but he had no mate
On the grounds in a large tent we did sit
Enjoying tea, scones and biscuit
Victorian women suffered 18-inch waists
Her aim was to appear chaste
Cooking, kinder and church her goal
Also to be obedient her role
Finally to end this epoch or sequel
We today strive to be equal
This entire program was well done
Combining serious art with some fun.
William Roufberg is a retired Princeton Regional Schools history teacher. He lives in Kendall Park.
