Seascape painting

Seascape painting
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UPPER TOWNSHIP - Lance Balderson knows a little about rejection.The Seaville art painting instructor faced his share of disappointment during a career of juried exhibitions, gallery openings and art shows in which his work did not make the cut. It takes courage for an oil painting artist to present his best effort to a fickle public and discerning peers."It's like a puzzle coming together one piece at a time," he said of his career as an artist. "It happens so slowly. Some of my students are so talented, but they lose interest in it because success doesn't happen fast enough."At 67, Balderson is reaping the benefits of a career spent at the easel. The Philadelphia Museum of Art informed him last month it will add one of his works to its permanent collection.It is a rare honor for an artist worldwide, let alone for a painter from Cape May County.Balderson thought the letter from the museum was a solicitation for his membership dues. Instead, it was a notice that his 1995 abstract acrylic painting titled "Tryst" will adorn museum walls shared by Cezanne, Monet and Van Gogh. Balderson teaches painting at his Upper Township studio and is a fixture at arts centers in Atlantic City and Ocean City."To think my painting could be hanging in the same room as De Kooning or Rothko - it's mind-boggling," he said. "Twenty years from now, my grandkids can go there and say, 'That's Pop-Pop's seascape painting.'"

Balderson had a knack for art at Cheltenham High School in suburban Philadelphia, where he was named most artistic by his peers in the senior class yearbook. On a lark, he submitted a painting in Ocean City's Boardwalk Art Show in 1964.He won Best of Show."Someone encouraged me as a kid. It got my mind spinning: Maybe I can do this," he said.He spent an early career as an architect, designing office buildings and churches including St. Luke's in Glenside, Pa. Longtime Ocean City artist Jim Penland in 1964 advised him to quit his day job to work on his art painting . He took that advice, albeit 20 years later."It was frustrating. I worked at a big firm, so none of my work was recognized. The plaque always had the name of the partners," he said. "I just got a letter from a lady who bought a seascape painting years ago. She said she still looks at it every day and cherishes it. I never got any letters like that as an architect."Soon, his work appeared in galleries and shows across the country. But Balderson was not picky. His seascapes and abstract art adorned restaurants and taverns. He accepted commissions to paint tropical fish or landscape oil painting to suit his clients' tastes.One of his pieces hangs at City Hall in Atlantic City.But having a piece selected by a major metropolitan museum represents the height of achievement."I cannot tell you enough how thrilled we are to have this wonderful painting enter the permanent collection," Curator of Modern Art Michael Taylor wrote to Balderson in his acceptance letter.The painting was approved by a selection committee and the museum's board of trustees.