EAST BRUNSWICK — Local residents, whether they realize it or not, are likely familiar with the works of artist Don Bloom.
The township resident has works permanently on display at the East Brunswick and South River public libraries. And in a special exhibition this month, about a dozen of his oil paintings are on display on the walls of the East Brunswick library.
Bloom, who has lived in East Brunswick for 40 years, said he bases his paintings on photographs he’s taken in the United States and elsewhere. The works on display at the library are largely from the 1960s and 1970s, although some are more recent. The paintings were chosen for the current show largely due to the quality of framing used for them, he said.
“You will see various subjects, all oil and canvas,” Bloom said.
One of his favorite topics is women and children. One painting is often mistaken as including several families, when in fact it is the same woman and child viewed six ways.
“They are all grouped in one picture,” he said. The painting is located in the children’s section of the library, flanked by quilts.
One of the works owned by the library is a depiction of a delicatessen window, which Bloom completed in 1959. The painting, which is about 5- by 6- feet, has been on display since 1999, located toward the back study area of the library.
He said the library has purchased another painting from him, and there is yet another that he donated. In both cases, he said, the Friends of the Library framed the pieces “beautifully.”
Among the paintings on display for October is “Two Women on Bench,” which is based on a trip Bloom took to Israel in the 1960s. The painting features fish and poultry vendors.
The show, sponsored by the East Brunswick Arts Commission, includes only Bloom’s oil paintings.
“A lot of it is based on photographs I took of moms and dads,” he said. “The ones in the show grew out of references I got from local and foreign travels.”
Bloom said that as a young adult he initially wanted to be a magazine illustrator, but his interest turned toward painting in 1954 and he never looked back. He taught art for over 30 years in Piscataway schools, and has received numerous awards, fellowships and scholarships in his career. His biography appeared in “Who’s Who in American Art” since 1970.
His work is also on permanent display at the South River Public Library, as well as at Rutgers and other schools. Although he grew up in Boston, Bloom moved to New Jersey in 1954 and has lived in East Brunswick since 1968. Bloom volunteers at the East Brunswick Jewish Center and the township’s Senior Center. He remains a busy artist, working on numerous paintings simultaneously.
“At the present time I am working on dozens of paintings,” he said “It’s a gradual, evolving process.”

