According to Ruth Ann Kim of St. Lucy's Homeless Shelter in Jersey City, the art program for the homeless started small.
"We had our first art show in 1998 in a small space at One Exchange Place," said Keim, the program's manager. "The show had 45 pieces, but they sold out. We didn't even have a price list up because we didn't think they would go."
Since then, the program has grown and its latest effort, an exhibition of art and poetry by St. Lucy's residents entitled "Street Glamour," will be shown at City Hall from Sept. 2 through Sept. 27. An opening reception will be held at City Hall Sept.12 from 6 to 8 p.m.
"About 20 of the residents will be participating," said Keim. "Our clients tend to come and go, but we encourage them to work with the talent they have."
Keim said most of the work done in the program is painting, although some of the residents experiment in clay and collage.
"Some of them do water color in smaller pieces," Keim added.
One of the artists who will be exhibiting is Gerome, 41, who will show a series of landscapes he has done of Jersey City and the Deep South. Due to the policy of St. Lucy's, residents can only be identified by their first names.
"I started practicing about three years ago," said Gerome, who goes to St. Lucy's almost daily to participate in the art activities. He has been in and out of shelters and currently lives with his mother in Jersey City.
One of his works, "Landscape," was inspired by the high rise construction in downtown Jersey City.
"I watch the buildings going up down there and do drawings of them on paper first," Gerome said. "Then I put in the color with oil paint."
Gerome moves slowly his composition, sometimes taking more than three weeks to complete a painting.
"I just have to come back and add more or do it again," explained Gerome. "It can take awhile and I take my time getting things right."
Gerome has also done portraits of birds on wood using acrylic paints.
"It was fun to try that," Gerome said. "I use the birds I see in the area as models."
Poetry is another art that Gerome works in, and he will be one of the readers at the opening reception.
"I wrote one poem called 'What?,'" Gerome said. "It's about how people are always bothering you and then when you're alone, you ask yourself what all that was. 'What was all that?' you ask."
Seascapes and lighthouses are a favorite theme of Bill, 51, a part-time bus driver.
"I started doing light houses when I was out in California," he said. Bill currently lives with a friend in Hoboken until he can find a permanent residence. From 1973 to 1979, he airbrushed murals in windows and on vans. Since then, he has been working mostly in oil.
"I always liked the seascapes and light houses since I was young," Bill explained. "There are approximately 30 lighthouse paintings in a series I have done. I'm putting some of them in the exhibit at City Hall."
Bill has branched out to other themes recently.
"I have been doing mythic-fantasy charcoal drawings," Bill said. "Mostly I've been doing drawings of dragons and things like that."
Keim said St. Lucy's arts program survives mostly on donations.
"A lot of artists in the area give us old brushes and other supplies," said Keim. "We get some very small grants, but the program runs on donations."
Anyone wishing to donate to St. Lucy's art program can call (201) 656-5771 ask for Keim.