RMW Ramblings

  Bowsprit Bowsprit  is the third of the paintings I did last week.  It is acrylic on canvas, 14 x 11 inches.  The sailboat is loosely based on the skipjack  Martha Lewis , which berths in Havre de Grace.  

Havre de Grace Waterfront Art 4   On the flip side of the HdG barriers edging the Promenade Grille outdoor seating Ezra Berger and his crew painted birds of the Chesapeake. I have painted many of these Bay aviators, mostly great blue herons. Here is a set of four paintings depicting a heron prancing on our seawall with classical Greek and medieval heraldic references, Erodios.

    Havre de Grace Waterfront Art 3     Among the HdG barrier paintings on the water side is one non-piscatorial Chesapeake inhabitant, a blue crab. I have painted many crabs over the years, and one from the same set of the "Yellow Perch" and "Rockfish" earlier. We'll look at the inland bird side of the barrier paintings later.

      Havre de Grace Waterfront Art 2   Another fish on the HdG Promenade Grille barrier paintings is a striped bass, which we here call a rock fish. My take on this tasty fish was sold years ago, but I still have a picture. He's capturing a Mayfly.  

Havre de Grace Waterfront Art   Havre de Grace Waterfront Art 1   An outdoor seating area asides a snack grille at the marina end of the the HdG waterfront promenade. Earlier this year the protective Jersey barriers were painted with images of the fauna of the Chesapeake by local artist Ezra Berger and a supporting crew. Aqueous Chesapeake denizens on the parking side, birds on the seating side.        Many of these I have painted myself in the past. We'll look at a few. My yellow perch swims by my desk at the cottage.  

  Color Is Where You Find It 5 Even plastic pots.

  Broken Reflections Herons Over Water  

  Sunrise Sandbar Heron To protect the wetlands, a sandbar barrier was created along the Havre de Grace waterfront Promenade.  It is now completely naturalized, but early on it was the site of various stonework temporary compositions,  stonework sculptural graffiti.  I lamented their demise, but they did not fit Maryland's preservation plans.  Of course the sandbar was not natural itself. Here I photographed a heron at morning sunrise at a  ring cairn or micro Stonehenge.

  Heron Hiding Another heron on a HdG waterfront walk.    

  Heron in Golden Sunrise Morning walks by the water in Havre de Grace are  visual feasts. The low morning sun gives texture to the water, silhouetting and shadowing the heron. 

A Live, But Impressionist Heron  On a walk in Havre de Grace along the water, I spotted this heron.  In the low light and at a distance I snapped a picture, which I have enlarged and color slightly boosted to make this impressionistic picture.  More herons to come.

  A Havre de Grace Icon 2 A polychrome image of the turreted building in yesterday's posting is the logo for the Havre de Grace Arts & Entertainment District.  Here it is on the sidewalk...

  A Havre de Grace Icon In Havre de Grace at Washington and Green Streets is this much photographed landmark building.  The usual shot is looking downhill on Washington St toward the Hatem bridge over the Susquehanna.  Here's an old snapshot...  My photo above views the turreted structure from Green St. instead.  I was attracted by the orange parking cones echoing the turret roof.  My original thought was to do a painting.  But after some modest contrast enhancements in Photoshop I decided I like the photograph better.  It reminds me of an Edward Hopper painting, but without a lonely figure.

  Morning Fog Sometimes my morning walk is in the fog.   Here's a foggy morning in Wilmington on Greenhill Avenue...    And a foggy in Havre de Grace, approaching the Marquis de Lafeyette...    

  The Bayou Lindens The Bayou, on the bay-front in Havre de Grace,  is a condominium originally built as a hotel.  The grounds have several very large Linden trees (American Basswood).  Here's a view I painted that includes the Bayou and shows two large Lindens on the waterside of the building.     These two trees have been a favored perch for a pair of bald eagles in recent years making them a popular photography subject.  A few weeks ago the trees disappeared, perhaps victims of the purple lanternfly infestation.    Their identifying marker is still there.    Here's another sign with some history of the Bayou.    

  Tidewater Dining   The Tidewater Grille is a waterfront restaurant in Havre de Grace on the Susquehanna just above it's entry to the Chesapeake Bay.  In season they have a popular outdoor waterfront dining area.  This is my take on it, just painted today.   The painting is 10 x 8 on a gallery wrapped canvas.

  State Flags Maryland & Delaware We split our time between Delaware and Maryland.  In Delaware I rarely see a Delaware flag.  In Maryland the state flag is prominent.  The reason is the design.   In Havre de Grace I see the Maryland flags on porches, public buildings, and painted on  walls. Maryland flag image merchandise is everywhere.  Here's Josephs Department Store on Washington St.   The Weiss Supermarket is not left out.     Then there are the drug stores, gift shops, galleries, etc.   Maryland's flag is based on the heraldry of the Marylans founder, Lord Baltimore.         Delaware's flag is of the common state flag default design of a "seal on a bed sheet," all be it with the distinguishing diamond.   In the next post I will visit the Delaware flag design.  

  4 July 2021 INDEPENDENCE DAY   Here's a Independence Day flag display on an earlier 4th of July at our cottage.  They are the so-called "Betsy Ross flag" and regimental standards from the Revolution. I found these skillfully handmade flags at an antique mall or a flea market some years back.  Four of the seven flags feature a pine tree, an early symbol of the emerging independence movement in the thirteen colonies.   In Havre de Grace there is a court of flags behind the statue of the Marquis de Lafayette as you enter ,the small downtown. Above is this morning, July Fourth. The array of flags change regularly, and for a few years a small glass window case posted a story behind a featured flag.  Here's the posting on one pine tree flag. .Summer is flag season. From Memorial Day ,through Flag Day, Indepen dence Day, up .to Labor Day flags fly and the stores feature red, white and blue decorations and picnic items  We'll be back to other vexillologic...