RMW Ramblings

  Campaniles A campanile is a free-standing bell tower.  The most famous is St Mark's Campanile in Venice, towering over the square at 325 feet.  The centerpiece of the campus of my graduate school, University of California at Berkeley is Sather Tower, usually called simply the Campanile, stands at 307 feet. But we have a campanile of our own here by Wilmington, the DuPont Carillon at Nemours, at 210 feet. Here's a sketch comparing all three...     Construction of St Mark's Campanile was begun in about 940, but continued slowly over a long period.  It was extended, modified, and repaired several ties over the centuries.  It finally succumbed to gravity and collapsed in 1902.  It was rebuilt, completed in 1912. [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mark%27s_Campanile] St Mark's Campanile appears as a small detail in a panoramic painting I did of the Venice Canale Grande that serves as a crest over a doorway at our cottage.       ...

  Presidential Halos   Haloed images are found in photography as well as art. US presidents often make public presentations with the seal of the presidency behind them. With careful choice of photographic angle they can be presented with a presidential halo. Here are some photos of recent presidents following this trope.        

  Beth Salem Beth Salem is an allegory of our home of peace. Her halo is a circular reinterpretation of the transom and door windows in our library. She holds her hand out to the dove of peace. Below her is a sweep of family scenes from our early days inside and outside our home. The supporting brackets copy the corbels that edge our roofline. The painting is on a thin wood panel. It, and the black label at the top of the frame, are seasonally exchanged with a Christmas themed wood panel painting and label stored in the back of the frame.

  Carnevale di Venezia Carnevale di Venezia , acrylic on 10 x 8 canvasboard, with heavy use of metallic paints.

 Artists of W 18th Street Revisited Mary and I had a mid-afternoon dinner last Sunday at Buckley's Tavern in Centerville and were conveniently seated by the fireplace with Dick Layton's ( https://rmw-ramblings.blogspot.com/2025/02/artiists-of-w-18th-st-richard-layton.html) tempera painting "Old Centerville in the Days of Doc Chandler."   I photographed it so I can now share it with you.  A few days later artist friend Margo Mavrantonis Johnson ( https://rmw-ramblings.blogspot.com/2025/02/artists-of-w-18th-street-margo.html) stopped by. I commemorated her visit by transporting her wandering snowman  to Rockford Tower.  

  Artists of W 18th Street Margo Mavrantonis Johnson Margo Mavrantonis Johnson is a W 18th St artist who is still active, although no longer living on our block.  Margo is retired from her art teaching career but continues to paint professionally.  She paints a variety of subjects, but my favorites are the structures and streetscapes from her frequent European trips, especially to her second home, Greece.  We treasure her Christmas cards which depict a peripatetic snowman who has visited New Castle, Tuscany and Greece, but has yet to experience a meltdown.       Margo has a studio and gallery representation in the Opera House, 304 Delaware  Street in old New Castle, Delaware, and a web site at https://margojohnson.artspan.com/exhibits.html.  There is an extensive gallery of her work there.