By John Tredrea, Special Writer
STOCKTON — People have told painter Jerry Cable they regard him as a “farm preservationist.”
”Farm scenes are what I know best,” Mr. Cable said. “I grew up on a farm in northeastern Ohio, in East Canton. I paint scenes of farms that are disappearing, and I paint a lot of farm animals — sheep, horses, pigs and others.”
Many of Mr. Cable’s representational oil landscapes are of the Delaware Valley area farms near his art gallery and studio at 3A S. Main St., in Stockton, a short way south of the historic Stockton Inn.
”Some of the paintings are from life, and some are from composites of things in my mind,” he said.
”I do landscapes in Hunterdon, Mercer and Burlington counties in New Jersey and in Bucks, Chester and Lancaster counties in Pennsylvania.”
In Mercer County, many of his paintings have been done at the Howell Living History Farm, part of the county park system and located in a scenic section of northwestern Hopewell Township.
He started painting early — at age 10. “I took lessons from a portrait painter,” he said. “She felt I had natural ability and was a mentor to me.”
He went on to graduate from the prestigious Pratt Institute’s school of art and design in New York City. He then ran a design business for 20 years, continuing with his painting as he did.
Ten years ago, he gave up the design business, switching to painting and running a studio full time.
”I opened my studio in Stockton five years ago. It was a response to people being unable to visit me in my home studio due to space limitations,” he said.
Right now is the best part of the year for this artist.
”My favorite time is early fall,” Mr. Cable said. “As leaves disappear from the trees, something is done to the light that’s really unique.”
Winter scenes also are a specialty for him. “I go outside and sketch and take photos and paint winter scenes based on them,” he said.
He paints outside a great deal in the summers, which he spends at an artists’ colony on Monhegan Island in Maine.
”I follow the seasons,” he said. “Monhegan is 12 miles off the Maine coastline. I do workshops there as well as paint.”
ON HIS WEBSITE (www.jerrycablestudio.com), Mr. Cable explains his work this way: “ The subjects I paint reflect the romance and tranquility of another era. They are an evolution of my memories growing up on the family farm interwoven with my personal journeys.
”Although my goal is to capture a specific scene, my paintings are often interpretations of memories recalled by the subjects I paint.
”I enjoy creating an alternative environment where viewers can escape the turbulence of everyday life and connect with their inner stillness. Embracing that stillness is what brings us to awareness of the beauty that is all around us.”
Mr. Cable, whose work has garnered numerous awards in New York and Pennsylvania, as well as New Jersey, attributes much of the strength of his following in this area to work he did as Artist-in-Residence for Hunterdon County Town & Country Living Magazine, during the four years of its existence.
I was the magazine’s cover artist from 2003-2007,” he said. “I did covers for them four times a year, from 2003 to 2007. A lot of those covers were made into prints. That really helped give me a local following.”
Mr. Cable’s work recently was published in the book “Artists of the River Towns,” by the late Doris Brandes, of New Hope.
Many of his works are in private and public collections across the United States and in Canada. Since 1995, his work has appeared in over 60 juried and non-juried exhibitions. His paintings have been featured in 15 solo exhibitions in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Ohio and Maine.

