It is apropos that painter Jerry Cable lives in an 1807 fieldstone farmhouse in Bucks County; his passion for historic buildings is reflected in his oil paintings which, along with tranquil landscapes and grazing animals, make up a large part of his oeuvre.
Born and raised on a farm in Northeast Ohio, the 67-year-old’s route to Bucks County was a circuitous one. He initially traveled east to New York, earning a B.F.A. from The Pratt Institute, after which he moved to north central New Jersey where he started a graphics design business. When his third daughter was born, Cable settled his family in Hunterdon County.
“I liked the area for the public schools,” he said, “and it was close enough to my clients in New York and Philadelphia.”
Drawn to the creative ethos of New Hope and Lambertville, he closed his design business in 2001 in favor of painting full-time. From 2008 to 2012 he managed his own gallery and studio next to the Stockton Inn. Later, he moved two miles upriver to a gallery space in the 1794 Prall House, part of the 10-building Prallsville Mills complex.
This past spring, Cable made some updates inside his farmhouse while outside, beyond the wraparound veranda, the heirloom garden was thriving.
“The lilacs took a while to mature but they did really well this year. The old plants were torn out so I put them back,” he said. “I love to paint what I grow.”
Cable is not only digging in, transplanting perennials, but he is digging up family roots which run eight generations deep in Bucks County.
A family tree question was answered with a newspaper clipping buried in an old book. The East Canton Press News article featured Cable’s great grandmother, highlighting the Welker family’s emigration from Europe, citing names and dates from the 1700s.
With time on his hands during lockdown, Cable researched his ancestry online. It turns out his seventh generation great grandparents are buried in the Goschenhoppen Cemetery, less than 10 miles from his house.
“I knew the location having visited the church and surrounding area while gathering content for my paintings,” he said.
It was only a matter of time before Cable would cross the river from the Jersey side, and become a Bucks County artist.
“Now 16 years later, here I am, home at last, living in Bucks County, right where I’m supposed to be,” he said.
From 19th-century European impressionists Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro to his first art instructor in Minerva, Ohio, Cable’s influences are an eclectic mix. The initial spark happened at the age of 10 during Saturday morning art lessons at the home of his mentor and teacher Jean Browne. His first task was a charcoal sketch of a simple green water pitcher laying on its side.
“Jean’s walkout basement had two large southern-facing windows overlooking her backyard and gardens,” Cable said. “I can still remember the sun streaming in and the smell of oil paint, varnish and fixative in the air.”
Four years later, he made his first art sale in the office where his father worked. The piece was titled Mill Wheel, an 18 x 24-inch oil painting of a grist mill and waterwheel.
Since 1995, he has participated in over 75 juried and non-juried exhibitions and over 55 solo shows spanning the Northeast and New England. Cable’s recent exhibits include The Devon Horse Show and Country Fair and The Philadelphia Sketch Club.
For a change of scenery, Cable has traveled to Maine every summer for the past 22 years. This August, he will be a guest exhibitor at the Red Barn Gallery in Port Clyde on the St. George peninsula.
“I’ve already switched my subject matter from horses and barns to lobster boats and rocky coasts. My painting career wouldn’t be what it is today were it not for my time spent in Maine.”
What does Cable still find challenging after more than 50 years of painting stone and brick buildings, weathered boats and floral still lifes?
“Water and crashing surf,” he said. “I hope to improve my technique this summer.”
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