Cape Artist Patricia Loftus leaves a lasting legacy

Not all that long ago, Lewes was more recognizable as a blue-collar fisherman's village than a plein-air artists' haven.

Tucked away in Henlopen Acres, the Rehoboth Art League attracted a collection of fine artists, and after Patricia Loftus joined the collective as a gallery assistant in the early '80s she changed the scene for local artists.

Loftus died peacefully Jan. 21, 2016, at the age of 91, leaving behind a colorful legacy as a charter member of the Cape Artists group and peer of famed Lewes artist Howard Shroeder.

Her son, Randy, wrote that these days, Loftus is painting in a brighter light, "The shadows are gone, but the brush strokes are bolder."

His mother, who was once a student at the Corcoran School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., put aside an art career to raise three sons and work full-time in a variety of positions, including as a nursery school teacher, secretary and even an account executive at the Wall Street Journal.

Randy remembers her as a resourceful child of the Depression who lived a full life; she counted among her favorite expressions, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do and do without."

When Loftus and her husband moved to Lewes in the early '80s and took jobs before retirement, her work as a gallery assistant at the RAL was a natural fit.

She made friends with a network of talented people, took classes and refined her skills. One sunny summer day, Loftus set out a yard sale sign at their home on the side of Kings Highway that attracted a lot of traffic from the ferry, Randy recalled.

When the cars dissipated, his mother came back with a handful of money, and he found out she sold all of her watercolors for $5 each. Randy was astounded, but his mother was elated, saying "I can always paint more!"

After Loftus attended Howard Shroeder's final watercolor class at RAL, she was instrumental in the painter's appearance on Charles Kurault's CBS Sunday Morning program. Her son sent in the pitch that brought CBS news crews to Lewes on a mission to document the artist's career and the changing Mid-Atlantic coastine Shroeder had spent decades documenting.

That final class may have been the end of Shroeder's career teaching watercolor, but it was fateful for the future of art in the Cape Region, and the start of something more enduring.

With the five other students in that class, Loftus went on to become a charter member of the Cape Artists group in 1985 and a driving force as it blossomed.

The six artists met weekly to paint together with the sole aim of becoming more adept at the medium. Since then, the group has evolved into a collective of as many as 25 members with a gallery in Lewes, located at 110 Third St.

Over the years, the Cape Artists group has helped document the changing coastline and opened the doors for scores of talented artists like Loftus to rediscover their muse on the streets of a quiet fisherman's village.