Wender·Vista
Virginia Beach
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileVirginia · United States
on the Atlantic coast of southeastern Virginia

Virginia Beach

— — the long beach where the country first came ashore.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Virginia Beach runs along the Atlantic between Cape Henry and the North Carolina line, a three-mile boardwalk facing east into the sunrise. Cape Henry is where the Jamestown settlers first came ashore in April 1607, before turning into the Chesapeake. Mornings here belong to runners and brown pelicans; in late summer the boardwalk fills with families who walked down from the cottages on Atlantic Avenue.

from the studio
Virginia Beach
— bring it home

Virginia Beach, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Virginia Beach

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Virginia Beach is an independent city on the Atlantic coast of southeastern Virginia, the most populous city in the Commonwealth at roughly 455,000 residents. Its 35-mile coastline runs from Cape Henry, at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, south to the North Carolina state line. The boardwalk along the resort district is three miles long and was first laid in wood in 1888. First Landing State Park, on the bay side of the cape, protects 2,888 acres of maritime forest, cypress swamp, and dune.

— the water

The Atlantic at Virginia Beach is the meeting place of the cold Labrador Current and the warm Gulf Stream, which keeps the water swimmable from late May through September and brings the loggerhead and Kemp's ridley sea turtles that nest on the beach each summer. The surf is gentlest in the morning before the southwest sea breeze builds. Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, ten miles south of the resort strip, protects more than 9,200 acres of barrier-island marsh on the Atlantic Flyway.

— the visit

The boardwalk season runs Memorial Day through Labor Day, when the resort district is busiest; the boardwalk itself stays open all year and is wheelchair-accessible the full three miles. Norfolk International Airport is about thirty minutes northwest. Cape Henry Lighthouse, completed in 1792, was the first federal public works project authorised by Congress and is open for climbing March through October. Off-season, October through April, the beach belongs to walkers, fishermen, and the wintering snow geese at Back Bay.

— where
United States · Virginia Beach, Virginia
— position
36.8529° N · 75.9780° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
11 km N
Cape Henry
headland
12 km N
First Landing State Park
state park
16 km S
Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge
wildlife refuge
N
Virginia Beach
Cape Henry
First Landing State Park
Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Virginia Beach — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

On April 26, 1607, the Jamestown settlers made first landfall at Cape Henry before continuing into Chesapeake Bay. A cross there marks the landing, and the original 1792 lighthouse stands a short walk inland.

Three miles, from Rudee Inlet north to 40th Street. It was first laid as a wooden walk in 1888 and rebuilt in concrete in 1980, with a parallel bike-and-skate path added.

A bronze of the sea god by sculptor Paul DiPasquale, installed at 31st Street on the boardwalk in 2005. It anchors the annual Neptune Festival held each September.

Yes, from late May through September. The Gulf Stream keeps summer water in the mid-70s Fahrenheit, and lifeguards staff the resort beach from 31st Street south to Rudee Inlet during the season.

2,888 acres of maritime forest, cypress swamp, and dune on the bay side of Cape Henry. Bald cypress here are at the northern edge of their range, and the park has 19 miles of hiking trails.

May through October. June is warm without August's humidity, and September brings the Neptune Festival and the start of the southbound shorebird migration along the coast.

— about the piece in your home

Customers who grew up on Atlantic Avenue or summered in the cottages often say the light of the morning beach reads correctly. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note carries well.

The piece sits in coastal-modern, Hamptons, and warm-minimal rooms. The blue-grey and sand palette echoes linen, weathered oak, and brass without competing with them.

Yes. The palette aligns with the current coastal-modern direction of soft Atlantic blues, sand neutrals, and warm wood, and reads as artwork rather than a print of the place.

A single Large reads well above a console or reading chair. Above a full-length sofa, a 4-tile or 9-tile Mural carries the wall without crowding it.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte. Both are scratch-resistant and steam-tolerant, suitable for beach-house bathrooms, kitchen backsplashes, and shower walls.

A dry or barely damp microfibre cloth. No solvents. The colour lives in the ceramic surface beneath a thin glossy finish, so salt air, humidity, and sun do not affect it.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is composed in-house by Reid Wender. We do not license images or reproduce other artists' work; the visual language is the studio's own.

— if this one stayed with you

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