The Morning News from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 53

i tmmmm I People Making her breaks Erma Bombeck M2 The News-Journal papers Wilmington, Del. Thursday, Oct. 30,1986 A ran for heir moeey i pniM" 'p pirn MMM i 'f? Painter puts marathons in new light ,7 1 By SCOTT HUBBARD Staff reporter The initial 5,000 prints of Carolyn Anderson's watercolor of the 1981 Boston Marathon were slow movers that year. Since then, however, not only the original prints, but two additional reprintings have sold. They are collectors' items of the work of the artist, who commemorates many of the international marathon biggies each year.

A reproduction of Anderson's watercolor for Sunday's New York City Marathon will be used for the cover of The New York Times Mar-athon Spectator Guide, to be included in that day's edition of the paper. The lithograph officially is sanctioned by the marathon and is sponsored by The Art of Running International, which sells the lithographs. This year for the first time the company will release a fine-art poster along with its limited edition print of the marathon. The hand-signed and numbered prints, limited to 950, will be offered to marathon participants for $40, while 3,000 copies of the poster will be sold to participants and the public at $25 each. Anderson was the first artist hired by Donna Macleod, former Wilmingtonian and founder of the art distributing company.

She is still its premier painter of marathons. The idea for the lithographs came to Macleod, a runner, when she wanted a reminder of her own competition in a L'eggs 10-kilometer race and the only posters avail-able were covered with advertising. The previous year she and Anderson combined their business and Staff photo by Fred Comegys Carolyn Anderson's poster (left) unites impressions and fact. She works in her studio (above). for Anne Bennethum.

I sold my first painting for $15 at the Brandy wine Arts Festival. I was so thrilled. It has never been the same since." The artist always has been interested in the changing skyline and mores of Wilmington and its surrounding areas. She says, "Lately I have been doing a lot of Wilmington skylines and looking at the old and new together and am interested in the changes. How it functions as a living city.

I paint for the subject matter of a building, rather than just a landmark. I soften its starkness and make a city landscape." Anderson goes "constantly to workshops of painters and water-See PAINTER D4 that's ugly, not fun, and put in things that are. I move the buildings around. It is impossible at this vantage point (of the poster) to see what I have there. The bridge doesn't really look like that.

It is simplified to give an impression, but not overpower the picture. The painting is of what people want to see, not what's there. Its anonymity allows people to identify with the place and what is happening." Anderson lived in Wilmington briefly as a child. After graduation from Syracuse University she worked in New York City designing textiles and wall coverings and in 1973 returned to Wilmington. She says, "My first job in Wilmington was a night class for about 60 people and I was designing needlepoint paintings made it possible to "get nationally known quickly.

I try for the spirit of the race, the festival. I use sheets and sheets of paper to capture the emotion and mood. Then I send them off to Donna and we Federal Express back and forth until we get what we want. It is a business relationship we trust and enjoy." The running pictures take about a third of Anderson's time. For the New York poster she stood in the middle of traffic on First Avenue last summer to get her own impression of the city and area of the race.

She says, "I'm there in the summer and the race is the late fall. It's the wrong season." After looking at the truth of the city, the artist says, "I eliminate the stuff strain of the competition. They found the right combination and an audience of about 25,000 that buys it. Macleod's business, which also commemorates other special events, now grosses more than $250,000 a year and the prices of Anderson's paintings have risen to as much as $3,000 each. Anderson says the marathon artistic talents on the 1980 Wilmington Flower Market poster, which won the gold award for the year from the Advertising Club of Delaware.

Their object for the mar-athons was the same sort of impressionist painting in softened colors, which showed the action, excitement and the verve of the event without the sweat, stress and On the tube by Gary Mullinax i mi If! k- Jay Leno builds a real following Jay Leno says there is a perfectly good reason for the popularity that has catapulted him from the circuit of smoky comedy clubs into the white light of big-time television exposure. "It's essentially a pyramid scheme," said Leno, his bristly lantern jaw thrusting, his bright eyes twinkling mischievously. "It's not unlike Amway. You go out and keep recruiting people who recruit other people until eventually there's some sort of megalomania." Actually, Leno seems the furthest thing from a megalomaniac. He is an unassuming fellow who eyes his celebrity status warily and continues to play one-nighters around the country.

His head is not turned by declarations in both Newsweek and The Washington Post that this is the Year of Jay Leno. His recent fame stems partly from his deal with NBC for three comedy specials. If they are popular, a prime-time variety show seems a real possibility. Meanwhile, he continues to show up on "Late Night With David Letterman." He has been a guest on the program more often than anyone else 35 times at last count. He subbed for Johnny Carson on a couple of recent "Tonight" shows.

His first show under the NBC contract was shot in Philadelphia and airs Saturday night at 11:30. Here and there it shows off Leno's perceptive, common-sense wit. But too much of the program falls back on moribund television conventions that have been rejected by many comics of Leno's generation including Leno until now. Also, he proves somewhat uncomfortable reacting to other people on the stage with him. Part of the comedy-variety special was taped on location at various spots around the city, including the old "American Bandstand" studio and the Italian Market.

Leno's standup routines and other features were taped in front of an audience at Municipal Pier 12 under the Ben Franklin Bridge. Guests include Letterman (briefly), Vanna White from See ON THE TUBE D2 itm: nmm. Calvin Randall pho Cascades of flowering chry santhemums herald the sixth annual Chrysanthemum Festival at Longwood Gardens Yellow brick road is paved with mums By EILEEN SPRAKER SUff reporter The wonderful garden of Oz will bloom at Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, from Saturday through Nov, 23, celebrating the display garden's sixth annual Chrysanthemum Festival. The Oz theme is a tribute to author L. Frank Baum, not only creator of "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and 13 other fantasy books, but alsd a chrysanthemum hobbyist During the three-week festival, visitors will follow Longwood's "yellow brick road" through jl indoor of mum; Dorothy, her dog, Toto, an5 all their Wizard of Oz friends will be depicted it) growing green topiaries.

In addition, there'll be weekend puppet presentations of the Wizard of Oz story, a weekend East Conservatory fountain. Puppet shows by Nick Swlndin Productions. Lionville, Pa.j will be offered at noon, 1:30 and 3 j.m.- on four festival weekends: Saturday and Sunday; Nov. 8-9; Nov. 15-16; and Nov, 22-23.

Weekday visitors may learn some food wizardry in demonstrations to be offered at 11:30 ajtn. and 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and Nov. 10-14 in the Longwood ballroom. AH events for the day are included with admission fee, except the Land of Oz buffet.

Tickets are $5 for adults; $1 for children ages 6-14; free for children younger than 6. To receive a complete lasting of all events, send a self-addressed, stamped business-sized envelope to: Chrysanthemum Festival, Longwood Gardens, P.O. Box 501, Kennett Square, Pa. 19348. For information, call (215) 338-6741.

Land of Oz buffet in Longwood's Terrace Kes-taurant and a continuing display of competition scarecrows. Forty varieties of yellow, pink, white and bronze mums will be displayed in mounds, globes, columns and rasrados. The theme display begins in the Visitor's ter, where a Kansas tornado swirls overhead. At the conservatory, visitors will begin a search leading to a Munchkin Land of vegetable villagers, presided over by Glinda the Good Witch, first of 18 Oz figures that make up the topiary displays. A giant ivy and grapevine "hot-air balloon" will float' above the conservatory's grassy lawns.

Visitors will find Dorothy and Toto wending their way on a path of yellow chrysanthemums toward the Emerald City that glimmers in the The first of Jay Leno's three comedy specials on NBC will air Saturday night at 11:30. It was filmed at various locations in Philadelphia, including the Italian Market. If the specials are popular, they could lead to a prime-time variety show for the 36-year-old comedian..