RMW Ramblings

Kalmar Children's Party Flyer Our last posting was of the imagined arrival of Wilmington's replica Kalmar Nyckel   arriving by the Kalmar Castle.  Cleaning out a file drawer I found an earlier Kalmar Castle image I did years earlier that I had forgotten.   For the 350th commemoration of the Swedes' landing in what is now Wilmington, I was asked to design a flier for an associated children's event.  Before Photoshop, before downloaded type fonts, before personal computers, in 1988, hand drawn and Xerox reproduced...

  Kalmar Arrival In 1638 the Swedes (and Finns) landed at the rocks on the Christina River, now a park site in Wilmington, on the Kalmar Nyckel .  In 1983 Mary and I were part of the welcoming activities for the King & Queen of Sweden to Wilmington commemorating the 350th anniversary of that landing.  Mary and I then went an an official visit to Kalmar, Sweden.  Later a replica of the Kalmar Nyckel sailing ship was built in Wilmington.  Here I imagine the new Kalmar Nyckel arriving at Kalmar, Sweden approaching the Kalmar castle.  This hasn't happened yet.    

  Neighbor Artists Ralph Scharff When Mary and I were first married, living in California, she frequently spoke of an art teacher she admired in high school at Ursuline Academy.  Not an Ursuline nun, and not even female, Ralph Scharff was an outspoken WW II injured Burma Road veteran who was a skilled artist.  Fast forward several years, and Ralph and family moved in as renters next door on 18th St.  They quickly became friends.   Ralph  was several gifted artists that have lived on our block.  Richard Layton, backyarding onto the block from 19th St; John Matassa, later in the same house as Ralph; Margo Marvantonis Johnson, two  doors down the street; Victor Letonoff, across the street. We have an assortment of drawings, prints, and paintings from our 18th St arts community.  This Scharff print hangs at our cottage,,, And here's the picture... The painting was used on the Delaware 1982 Resident Trout Stamp.

Visual Echos   Stained Glass Echoing Heron Echoing Vine   Spotting a heron on our seawall through a window screen, I notice his shape echoing the vine in the foreground.   And then, I saw the pattern of a dried weed that I laminated in a stained glass panel years ago. Putting them together in a montage...          

  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.

  Iced Tea 1 & 2 Sharing an iced tea alfresco is a favored summer activity. I like doing paintings in sets or polyptychs, and here I have painted Mary and a friend, at home in Wilmington, and then at Carpenter's Point, with their iced tea.   Iced Tea 1 On our rear courtyard deck in Wilmington...     Iced Tea 2 And here, on our small waterfront deck at Carpenter's Point...     The paintings share a color palette, and each is signed with a monogram iced tea pitcher along the bottom.