This Unique Place: Paintings & Drawings by Jeff Weaver Exhibition Catalogue
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Essay by Martha Oaks with contributions by Ernst von Metzsch and Don Gorvett; Designed by Meredith Anderson
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Gloucester has been artist Jeff Weaver’s home for 50 years—nearly his entire mature career—and although he has combed through the city from top to bottom, it continues to fascinate and inspire him. The paintings and drawings Weaver creates capture an old city as it continues to evolve, a city with a long history that is sometimes revered and other times overlooked, a city linked to the sea and the fishing industry, a city like no other. Weaver’s work captures the spirit of Cape Ann with a high degree of realism and a touch of sentimentality and tells us as much about Gloucester as it does about the artist.
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This catalogue accompanied the exhibit of the same name previously displayed at the Cape Ann Museum from March 17-June 4, 2023. The catalogue features full-color reproductions of some of Weaver's paintings, drawings, and sketches as well as an essay by CAM's Chief Curator, Martha Oaks, with contributions by collecter Ernst von Metzsch and printmaker Don Gorvett.
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Softcover, 70 pages, 8.5 x 11". Full Color Images.
Copyright 2023 Cape Ann Museum with Puritan Press.
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My paintings and drawings of Gloucester reflect my long connection to, and fascination with, this unique place. Its architectural diversity, decaying wharves, and working waterfront have provided me with an intriguing array of subject matter for almost 40 years.
I choose my subjects as often from the commonplace as from the inherently picturesque, looking for that which reveals the city’s true personality. I enjoy the challenge of finding visual interest in scenes which ordinarily go unnoticed. As light moves across the landscape, objects are defined or obscured, luminated or enveloped in shadow. These shapes and patterns are key elements in my work. They provide the structure upon which is built a strong graphic image.
While I work in the American Realist tradition, my work is also influenced by developments in 20th-century painting and its emphasis on gestural brushwork, line, and compositional structure.
Jeff Weaver was born in 1953 in Framingham, Massachusetts. He began drawing and painting at an early age, accepting portrait commissions by age fourteen. In his high school years, he won awards in drawing & sculpture in the Boston Globe state-wide art competitions. During this time his teacher was Eleanor Marvin, accomplished sculptor and graphic artist, who nourished his draftsmanship skills. After graduating from high school, he entered the Boston Museum School. In 1972 he took up residence in Gloucester, sketching and painting the waterfront on an almost daily basis.
In his early years in the city, he supported himself at various waterfront jobs, as well as from commissions for boat portraits from fishing vessel captains, and for murals in commercial establishments and private homes. This eventually led to many years of commercial work, including over 30 murals painted in different parts of the city.
Returning to fine art pursuits in the 1990s, Jeff again focused on depicting Gloucester and its environs in various media. He currently operates a studio/gallery at 16 Rogers Street on the Gloucester waterfront.
