RMW Ramblings

  Stations of the Flag Betsy Ross In March of 1870 William Canby   read a paper to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, "The History of the Flag of the United States," the first presentation of "the well sustained tradition in the family of Elizabeth Claypoole (the Elizabeth Ross) [Canby's grandmother] this lady is the one to whom belongs the honor of having made with her own hands the first flag."  By the the 1876 Centennial, that "tradition" became a permanent part of America's flag lore. Canby's story has not otherwise been confirmed, but it is documented that Betsy Ross did make some ships flags.  The flag with a circle of 13 stars is popularly called the Betsy Ross flag.  The original flag declaration did not specify the stars' pattern or the stars' shape.  Documented is the 3:2:3:2:3 pattern in 1777. Some early flags had six pointed stars and other variations.  Part of the Betsy Ross flag tradition is that she suggested the fiv...

 Stations of the Flag   Today is Flag Day, to be followed by Flag Week.  It is the 249th anniversary of the Continental Congress adopting the flag.  From 1775 till 1776 the  Continental Union\n flag was the unofficial flag at sea for the American colonies.  The "Union" refers to both the canton Union Jack of England and Scotland, with the added stripes for the associated 13 colonies.  While at first it represented the American colonies as part of the United Kingdom, It became the banner of American rebellion.

Paintings With Glyphs 1 Often in my paintings I incorporate glyphs, small line-work elements.  Here are two paintings with glyphs based on actual American Indian petroglyphs spanning the continent. Girl of the Susquehanna  is a painting that occasional hangs over the fireplace at our summer cottage near the top of the Chesapeake Bay.  the Susquehanna enters the Chesapeake just a few miles away.   The scattered glyphs are modeled on petroglyphs from two locations on the Susquehanna River, Bald Friar, in Harford County, MD, and Safe Harbor, in Lancaster County, PA.  The Bald Friar petroglyphs were removed from the river when the Conowingo Dam was built in 1928 and are now in a museum.  The Safe Harbor petroglyphs remain in place and can be accessed by boat.  In my painting I have added color; the originals are cut into rock, not painted.   Canyon Greeting  is set across the country overlooking the Grand Canyon.    The glyphs here are ...

  A Pyrographic Frame Paintings to Fit Interesting found frames are both a challenge and an inspiration for my paintings.  A thrift store find of a pyrographic decorated frame (detail above.) was a reecent starting point  Pyrography or wood-burning is a decorative process, charring patterns and images on wood or other substrates with a heated tool.  Typically pyrography is a handcraft technique, but this acorn and oak leaf design was probably hot stamped commercially. The frame came with a print which I discarded and an oval glass cover. My first experiments with a painting to fit the frame were two watercolor sketches followed the frame's oak motif.  An oriole decending a tree branch, and then, a single oak leaf in autumnal crimson.    I found these to be boring and trite  The frame called for more color so I switched to painting in acrylic on a panel cut to fit the oval opening, "AJ in Blue," a little portrait of our great grandson on an ultrama...

  Pi Day 2026   Today is Pi (π) Day, 3.14 (March 14). This brings to mind Euler’s Identity which connects the five fundamental constants of mathematics.      The constants e, π, i (√-1), and 0 each have a biography in my library.    

  Mount Salem Nocturne I've done many paintings with a black ground and many paintings of our block of Mount Salem Lane and church.   Mount Salem Nocturne  fits both boxes.