Archive for the ‘virtual cycling along the Cornwall coast’ Category
gates and gateposts
Looking through my watercolours, I came across the painting below of a gatepost. I painted this during my virtual excursion through Cornwall, using Street View and Google Earth. The painting reminds me of how much fun I had, painting the scenes I discovered on my virtual journey.
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I am still using Street View to motivate my exercise program – since last year, I have been following the Saint John River from its origins in Quebec and Maine. My goal is to ‘cycle’ the length of the Saint John River, all the way to where it empties into the Bay of Fundy.
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Gateways mark change. They represent movement from one space to another. They can be entryways. They can also be barriers. The challenge is always to step through that gate and keep on going.
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Oct. 4, 2013 ‘gate near Feock’ Jane Tims
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through the gate
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grey granite cold
black body to
absorb the sun
emit no warm
even lichens
rooted to stone
are barely alive
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the stone invites
admiration
but curves disguise
the jagged edge
biotite and
muscovite honed
razor thin
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step forward, through
the gate, ignore
the risk
the path behind
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Copyright 2014 Jane Tims
art auction !
This week begins another Art Auction at Isaac’s Way Restaurant in Fredericton, New Brunswick. For the next 4 months (late January through to late May), Isaac’s Way displays art by local artists and runs a silent auction and sale. This 23rd auction will sponsor MUSIC lessons for Fredericton kids-in-need.
Thank you for your interest in this community fundraiser at Isaac’s Way Restaurant! We organize three auctions per year, each raising funds for one of four artistic areas: dance, art, music, and theatre. This is a win-win-win opportunity for sure: the children gain confidence and creativity, their families feel blessed to have the help, you [the artists] get a chance to display in a public space along with free advertising, the instructors earn more income and word-of-mouth recognition, the community feels good to be helping the kids, customers get local, original art at amazing prices, our wait staff has an excellent conversation starter with visitors, and our restaurant gets a colourful face lift three times per year. Everyone wins!
In this 23rd Art Auction, Isaac’s Way will be displaying the work of more than 50 artists.
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I have a painting in the auction, an acrylic entitled ‘blue stone’ (24″ x 20″, unframed, gallery edges). It is a version of a watercolour done during my virtual cycling trip along the Cornwall coast.
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Here is the watercolour, ‘blue stone’ …
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October 25, 2013 ‘blue stone’ Jane Tims
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And the acrylic, now for sale or auction at Isaac’s Way …
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blue stone (Jane Tims)
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This will be the forth painting I have contributed to the auction: ‘blue stone’ (acrylic), ‘iron gate in Cornwall’ (acrylic), ‘gate in Ponsanooth’ (watercolour), and ‘rainbow gate’ (watercolour).
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If you are in the Fredericton area, I hope you stop in at Isaac’s Way. The food is delicious, the atmosphere is inspiring and you have a chance to acquire a piece of art by a local artist! The restaurant is located in the historic York County Court House (est. 1855), so you can even dine inside the former vault!
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Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
glimpses of country life – drying day
For the last two weeks, I have continued on my stationary bike, touring (virtually) through the Cornwall countryside. Since I last reported, I have gone from Rinsey Croft to the coastal town of Prussia Cove. Since the road does not run along the coast, I have spent most of my biking miles travelling on short roads from the highway to various coastal towns. In this stretch, I biked for 150 minutes, and saw about 9 km of the Cornwall countryside.
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As I bike, I love seeing the vignettes of country life captured by Street View. Gates, of course, and stone walls. Cows and horses grazing in the meadows. People hiking along the roads and working in their gardens. And a line of washing, hung out on the line to dry.
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September 7, 2014 ‘drying day’ acrylic 20 X 24 Jane Tims
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Reminds me of home.
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Copyright 2014 Jane Tims
fortification against the sea
On the second day of my virtual biking last week, I toured Porthleven, a large town along the Cornwall coast. Street View had done its image-taking on a clear day, but the steep cliffs along the ocean made me ponder what it might be like to stand on this exposed coast in a storm.
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I wondered why so many foundations along the cliff side of the street were abandoned. One of the foundations enclosed what might be a giant chess board!
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abandoned foundations along the coast at Porthleven (image from Street View)
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Then I had a first glimpse of the seawall and signs warning sightseers to beware …
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seawall and clock tower at Porthleven (image from Street View)
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The harbour itself is a maze of thick, high walls and the piers of a now absent bridge …
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the fortified harbour of Porthleven (image from Street View)
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A little searching on the internet found a dramatic photo (credit: Annabel May Oakley-Watson/REX) of the clock tower in the first image above, during a coastal storm … (‘Should Coastal Britain Surrender to the Tides?’, Patrick Barkham, The Guardian, February 7, 2014). http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/feb/07/should-coastal-britain-surrender-to-tide
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(photo credit: Annabel May Oakley-Watson/REX)
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Copyright 2014 Jane Tims
along the pond
On my stationary bike last week, I travelled (virtually) along the Cornwall coast from the mouth of Loe Pond to Rinsey. During the week, I biked for 90 minutes, and saw 11 km of the Cornwall countryside.
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The first day took me from the mouth of ‘The Loe’, along the pond to just west of Porthleven, in Shadywalk Wood.
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from the beach at the mouth of Loe Pond to Shadywalk Wood (map from Google Earth)
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The beach is a wide crescent of endless sand …
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August 16, 2014 ‘beach at Loe’ Jane Tims
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The path along ‘The Loe’ is narrow, tree-lined and shady. I saw lots of hikers and fellow bikers, but not a single car.
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a typical part of the path along ‘The Loe’ (image from Street View)
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August 16, 2014 ‘along Loe Pond’ Jane Tims
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Biking along a shady lane, with no worries about traffic, thick ferny woods to one side and the sparkle of a pond on the other … a lovely way to ponder the days of summer …
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Copyright 2014 Jane Tims
a return to Cornwall and its gates
I am back on my virtual bike trip along the coast of Cornwall. This week I have travelled 9 km from Predannack Wollas to Loe Pool for a total stationary cycling time of 75 minutes.
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I have missed the Cornwall scenes of hedgerows and meadows, stone houses and seaside quays. Mostly I have missed seeing the gates, so it is no surprise my first watercolour for this phase of my journey is the stone pillar to a private gate.
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August 12, 2014 ‘stone post’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2014 Jane Tims
back to Cornwall
Although I have done some stationary biking since I ended my virtual trip across northern New Brunswick, I want to get back to the regular schedule I followed when I biked virtually in France and Cornwall. So I have decided to hop back on the Street View road and see some more of Cornwall.
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In Phase 7 of my virtual cycling, I finished the southern coast of Cornwall at Landewednack and Lizard. I’ll begin Phase 9 at Predannack Wollas and cycle around the west coast of Cornwall. I’ll look forward to seeing Arthur’s Titagel and Doc Martin’s Port Isaac. Mostly, my knees will benefit from more regular exercise.
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Predannack Wollas to Porthleven
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I have my first four days plotted and I start tomorrow. Just for old time’s sake, here is one of my earlier paintings from southern Cornwall …
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Copyright 2014 Jane Tims
still painting Cornwall gates!
After completing ‘iron gate in Cornwall’ for Isaac’s Way Restaurant’s art auction, I decided to paint a gate just for myself. I liked the small watercolour I did for my first Isaac’s Way auction, so I have painted a version of the scene in acrylics.
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First, the watercolour, 8″ X 10″, unframed …
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January 10, 2014 ‘rainbow gate in Falmouth’ Jane Tims
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And here is the new painting in acrylics, 20″ X 24″ unframed …
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May 22, 2014 ‘rainbow gate in Falmouth #2’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2014 Jane Tims
an iron gate in Cornwall
Yesterday, I delivered another painting, entitled ‘iron gate in Cornwall’, to Isaac’s Way restaurant, for their upcoming auction. Isaac’s way will be displaying the work of more than 50 artists from May 26, 2014 throughout the summer in their 21st art auction for charity.
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I had intended to display the watercolour ‘gate on Old Church Road’ for the auction (8″ x 10″, unframed). However, Isaac’s Way had space for a larger painting, so I have done another version of the gate in acrylic (24″ x 20″, unframed). I had not worked in acrylic for more than a year, so it was interesting to use the different medium for this new painting.
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Here is the watercolour, ‘gate on Old Church Road’ …
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October 24, 2013 ‘ gate on Old Church Road’ Jane Tims
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and the new painting, in acrylic, ‘iron gate in Cornwall’
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May 13, 2014 ‘iron gate in Cornwall’ Jane Tims
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Although they are of the same place, there are lots of differences, mostly in the colour and shadow …
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Copyright 2014 Jane Tims
another gate in Cornwall
Isaac’s Way restaurant in Fredericton has announced that the 20th Art Auction for Kids-in-Need (sponsoring theatre classes for underprivileged children) has already raised over $6000 from the sale of over 50 pieces of art. The goal for this auction is $8000.
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The art may be seen at http://isaacsway.ca/art/ If you are in the Fredericton area, come to the restaurant in person and make a bid. The auction ends Sunday May 25th at closing time. If you bid on my watercolour ‘gate at Ponsonooth’, remember, I am donating 80% of the proceeds towards Kids-in-Need!
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January 23, 2014 ‘gate in Ponsanooth’ Jane Tims
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In the next art auction, from May 25, 2014 through the summer, I am contributing another of the watercolours from my gates in Cornwall series, called ‘gate on Old Church Road’.
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‘gate on Old Church Road’ Jane Tims
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I hope wherever you are, you will be able to take in some great art shows this summer!
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Copyright 2014 Jane Tims
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