Wall space is a limiting factor in my humble abode. Because of that, I have never been accused of shopping for art. Rather, art finds me when it stops me in my tracks. Just as a shelter cat extends a paw from her cage tapping your shoulder and begging to be adopted, so it is with art. Somehow, there is always room for one more cat and one more painting.

Thus begins my introduction to David Macomber. While walking to the post office on Washington Street a few years ago, I passed David’s pop-up shop. A print hanging in the window begged for a re-homing. At the Rails was an uncanny replica of my stepfather surveying the sea in his classic foul weather jacket that now belongs to me. The print and the jacket!

As an accomplished aerospace engineer slogging out his days on terra firma in suburban Philadelphia, my stepfather Charlie was arguably most at home when out at sea. His time spent as a merchant marine in the 1950s instilled a life-long passion for the water. Never finding the good fortune to call a sailboat his own, he was an accomplished sailor and did what those of us without a boat intuitively do best: we befriend those who have one.

Charlie taught the knowledge of sailing to many with more money than sailing knowledge. They in turn became lifelong friends. Additionally, he delivered charter sailboats “for free” from Newport to Bermuda in exchange for the experience and airfare home. That he and his crew lost one such charter in a full gale blowing 50-knot winds in 30-foot seas and had to be rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter onto a waiting Chinese tanker is a story for another day.

We had a secret pact. If ever he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, rather than him suffering in a hospital bed, I would help him provision and launch a sailboat to meet his maker at sea. As in a “don’t tell your mother” kind of pact. Sadly, an accidental fall shattered his hip and elbow. The doctors couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again. He whispered to me from his hospital bed a few nights before he died “this is not the way we planned it.” Perhaps dear reader, you can understand why At the Rail was rehomed.

David Macomber describes At the Rail as hopefully capturing and telling the story of a moment everyone who has worked the sea has experienced: staring out and experiencing just how small we are on God’s great ocean. I asked him how his faith inspires his art. “My faith is so much of who I am that it can’t help but bleed into my artwork,” he told us. “I don’t set out to create uniquely Christian artwork, but what I am reading in scripture will heavily influence elements of my work. For example, when I paint whales, I usually paint them in groups to express my love for community. Community and relationship are a big theme of the Bible. Buoys are a sign of redemption and restoration of relationships. The octopus symbolizes things in life that entangle us.”

Growing up in a commercial fishing family, David has always felt an allure from the sea. “The ocean waves and salt air have shaped my perspective and fueled my creativity.” David’s grandfather was a fisherman, and his dad was a clammer. His cousin Tom McNulty owns and runs scallop boats out of Cape May. “I went on a few trips with my dad when I was younger, but he discouraged me from pursuing that as a career,” David said. “Commercial fishing is still extremely dangerous, but back when my dad was fishing in the 80s and 90s, it was particularly rough. Dad had some friends who passed away and others who got really injured, so he encouraged me to go to college and do something safer as a career.”

Each December, David engages in a self-described controversial ritual by burning unsold original projects. “I sit alone and watch the flames consume the canvas entirely, releasing the deep emotion I poured into each individual piece, while simultaneously allowing me to make space for fresh new beginnings.” For David this ritual “though provocative in nature, embodies a necessary closure—a thoughtful way to honor the effort and inspiration behind the art that I created while embracing the inevitability of change and renewal in my ongoing creative journey.”

When discussing that ongoing creative journey, David says he’s starting to think more about meaning than simply having fun. “I want to tell more stories and cause people to think,” he said. “When I was younger, it was more about style but now it’s more about story. As a society, we are becoming more disconnected. Social media and texting are supposed to bring people together; instead, we are losing that face-to-face communication and relationship. I want older people to remember and younger people to learn the importance of being together in the moment without the constant distraction of their cell phones.” Perhaps it’s not surprising then to learn that David still likes to watch Mister Roger’s Neighborhood. “It was my favorite show when I was growing up. I just started watching it again. He was so encouraging and peaceful and inquisitive. In this fast-paced, loud world of entertainment, it’s nice to watch something else.” 

Not limited to canvas, David also takes on larger projects. As in much larger. Think “huge murals on both the inside and outside of buildings” kind of larger. Some of his favorites can be seen at the Jetty Flagship store, the artBOX at Morey’s Adventure Pier, Cape May County Commons, Cape May Brewery, Gold Print Barber Shop, El Pueblo, and PYNAPL Surf. He most recently finished a mural at the Cape May County Airport.

Most murals require a lift to accomplish. “The hard part for me is planning to have everything I need and having a place to keep everything, so I don’t have to constantly go up and down,” David told us. “My sons (Seth, 16 and Kory, 13) also enjoy going up in the lift with me. They are both super creative and have helped me with murals in the past.” Seth is writing a fiction book and working on a card game. Kory is more focused on athletics but has a natural talent for music. He plays the ukelele at home and the trumpet for the school band. 

Perhaps the mural David is most proud of is of his son Kory at the artBOX on Morey’s Adventure Pier in Wildwood. It was in the back, where most people probably never saw it. David was motivated after someone scribbled the “N” word at Kory’s bus stop. Instead of burning someone’s house down in anger (only somewhat joking), David responded by painting a big mural of Kory’s face. He painted another mural of adopted son Kory with the number 39 atop due to his frustration with the foster care system, because in court they would only refer to him as a case number.

When asked about a favorite, David told me, “I don’t know if it’s still there, but up on the Wildwood Boardwalk, I painted two hands making a heart on the side of a shipping container and over the years, I have seen so many couples pose in front of it for a photo. That feels really special to me because it embodies why I like painting murals, which is bringing joy and a moment of pause to the passerby.”

It’s often said behind every good man is a better woman. In this case, his wife of 25 years, Melissa Mae, is the glue that holds the business side of things together for David. They met at church in Long Beach, California, where he moved to attend art school. David’s pastor in Cape May happened to be roommates in college with Melissa Mae’s pastor in California. Melissa Mae told me, “We were close friends for a year and a half before he asked me out for dinner. We were engaged and married pretty quickly after that.”

Prior to joining David full-time in 2018, Melissa Mae worked in legal services for many years and the company she worked for in California allowed her to switch to remote work when they moved to New Jersey. Says David, “Melissa Mae is such a huge support to me and always encouraging me to try new things and not play it safe.” Says Melissa Mae, “The most challenging part of working as a husband-and-wife team is the workday never ends. I really enjoy working for David and feel I am always growing and learning new things. He is very creative and has an eye for design, so I actually enjoy just watching him work.”

Current prospective projects include a children’s coloring book or possibly a game in the works, but they often end up on the back burner. When speaking about the business side of his art, David cites three key principles: creativity, exploration, and kindness. He is hoping that when it’s finished, the book will be a way to teach those principles to kids. In addition, he is working on a series of paintings in his North Cape May studio that will be released at the end of the year.

In the meantime, David is planning some collaborations this summer in his 32-foot RV, which he painted on a whim last November. “I was bored, so I decided to paint a big Sea Turtle on the side.” Then he thought, “Maybe I should paint the rest of it and do something cool.”

That something cool turned out to be a pop-up event at the Jetty Flagship store based in Manahawkin. “We did an octopus stencil where people could come and paint with me and everyone got a unique custom print to take home,” David said. “It was a lot of fun. So, I’m looking forward to doing similar events using the RV as a pop-up art studio and making art with people in person.”