Local artist Ronnie Levine of the Rivertown Painter’s Studio has given new life to the mural at Main Street Sweets. Damage from a smoky fire in April had left the original version discolored in some places and rubbed away in others.
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Artist Ronnie Levine |
Ms. Levine has preserved the original layout (done in 2000 by Felipe Adame) of Tarrytown’s Main Street with the river and Palisades in the distance, and she has made each building a detailed likeness of a real building on the street. The firehouse, for example, has been added to please the children as well as to honor the firefighters for keeping the fire damage to a minimum. Most of the things shown in her store windows are real things that have been on display recently; some still are. The familiar flowered tablecloths await customers at the Main Street Café, with ketchup and napkins ready; the Music Hall posters advertise some of this past summer’s shows. Ms. Levine’s own paintings hang in her version of the Gallery du Soleil, and a 4-inch version of the front section of the mural can be seen in her Main Street Sweets.
Marlaina Bertolacci, one of the shop’s owners, says that she and her family are very happy with the results. "Many of our customers spend time looking at the mural," she said. "One man studied it intently the whole time he was eating his ice cream."
Most satisfying, says the artist, was working on the image of Main Street Sweets itself, with its warm yellow façade and red-and-white striped awning. It is a place she says, where you can always find something to smile about. She is at the shop most late afternoons and evenings, working now on the section depicting Sleepy Hollow, and welcomes comments and questions.
