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Kaptur paints a familiar lighthouse

August 10, 2016

by Tom Jackson, Sandusky Register

MARBLEHEAD — The iconic lighthouse in Marblehead has been photographed many times and been depicted in countless artworks.

So it's not a surprise to see it on a color postcard that U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, has been passing out to promote the importance of the Great Lakes and Lake Erie.

The surprise comes from looking at the artist's signature, written in the waters of the lake in the bottom left of watercolor: Marcy Kaptur.

Yes, Kaptur says, that's her painting, titled “Marblehead Lighthouse at Sunrise, Ohio-District 9.” (That’s the number of her U.S. House district.)

She likes to paint, and watercolors are her main medium, but her career as a lawmaker doesn't allow much time for art.

"I don't have much time to do that," she said.

The watercolor of the Marblehead lighthouse, about 15 inches by 10 inches, was painted about eight years ago. Working with a drawing, Kaptur painted it one morning at the Toledo Botanical Gardens.

You can get a small copy of the painting if you cross Kaptur's path this summer. Without mentioning who the artist was, she gave a copy of her postcards to everyone she encountered at Wednesday's press conference at Lions Park in Sandusky, held to announce green infrastructure grants the U.S. EPA awarded to Sandusky, Huron, Vermilion and other Great Lakes cities.

Kaptur's original painting was raffled off.

"I don't know where the original is at this point," she said.

A spokesman said that Kaptur's artistic efforts are known to her staff.

"The congresswoman’s personal interests are gardening, painting, and serving her constituents, not necessarily in that order," the spokesman said.

Her depictions of the Marblehead lighthouse hang in her Capitol Hill and district offices.

Kaptur's postcard campaign is part of her effort to bring more attention to the Great Lakes, which she contends are overlooked by national leaders.

Three out of four members of the national tickets of the two major parties are from the East Coast, she notes. Mike Pence, Indiana's governor, is from the Midwest, but he never showed up to Great Lakes Task Force meetings when he was a member of the U.S. House, she said.

"It's really been a struggle for us to get attention," she said.

Marcy Kaptur's Great Lakes postcard

The postcard Marcy Kaptur likes to pass out to her constituents has a watercolor depiction of the Marblehead lighthouse on one side and the following text on the other:

"Lake Erie is home to the greatest abundance of fish and aquatic wildlife of all the Great Lakes. We must treasure and preserve this incredible natural asset for future generations."

Our Magnificent Great Lakes:

• Hold 20 percent of the world's freshwater supply;

• Contain 6 quadrillion gallons of water;

• Support more than 170 species of fish;

• Surround more than 30,000 islands;

• Are home to 129 lighthouses.

Compliments of Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur

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