Portrait of Waterman Artist William Cummings

William Cummings was a Tilghman Island waterman who, in his forties, taught himself to paint. During a stint as the bridge tender for the Knapps Narrow Draw Bridge, Bill studied every book on anatomy and painting that he could lay his hands on. I was fortunate to get to know Bill when I was commissioned to paint portraits of local watermen. I chose to portray Bill in his studio with his many sketches and studies tacked on the wall behind his drawing table. Unfortunately, this portrait was rejected because Bill looked too much like a corporate VP, so I painted him again in his fowl weather gear and that portrait was accepted. Bill and I became good friends and he taught me much about the way of life of Chesapeake watermen. Ironically, the day Bill died and I got the sad news, I was painting the Watermen's Chapel on Solomons Island during a plein air competition. Bill's daughter gave me his collection of art books and I continue to use them as reference for my own paintings of waterman. All of Bill's many paintings are owned by collectors and his story has been told in many publications such as Sea History Magazine.