Archive for the ‘virtual cycling along the Cornwall coast’ Category
yet another Cornwall gate
As you may have seen on my ‘accomplishments’ page, I have sold the painting ‘rainbow gate in Falmouth’. It was on display as part of an art auction at Isaac’s Way Restaurant in Fredericton.
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The art at auction at Isaac’s Way helps local children’s charities, in this case providing opportunities for summer theatre. Once I have sold a painting, I can replace the painting with another and now ‘gate in Ponsanooth’ is up for auction! You can see the painting at https://nichepoetryandprose.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/another-cornwall-gate/ .
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I am continuing to paint in my Cornwall gates series. This past weekend, I painted another gate from Ponsanooth entitled ‘enter’. Gates are meaningful to me, as metaphors for change and as representative of possibility. And the various building materials, stone, cement, wood and metal, are very enjoyable to paint …
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February 22, 2014 ‘enter’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2014 Jane Tims
another Cornwall gate
Yesterday, I completed another in the ‘Cornwall gates’ series.
They are fun to find and paint. I have learned this – trying to paint what is just beyond the gate takes away from the mystery!
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Copyright 2014 Jane Tims
Cornwall gates
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Among the paintings I did during my virtual cycling trip along the Cornwall coast are a few on the theme of gates and entryways …
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September 14, 2013 ‘afternoon by the gate’ Jane Tims
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October 24, 2013 ‘ gate on Old Church Road’ Jane Tims
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January 9, 2014 ‘gate in Falmouth’ Jane Tims
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January 10, 2014 ‘rainbow gate in Falmouth’ Jane Tims
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January 12, 2014 ‘red gate’ Jane Tims
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Gates are symbolic of so many things. They represent any portal into a new place, a new life, a new adventure. We know what is on this side of the gate. We may not know what we will find when we open the gate and step through.
This week, I am stepping through a gate, by taking the first step toward showing my paintings to the general public. I have submitted one of my ‘gate’ paintings (‘rainbow gate in Falmouth’), for showing and sale, to Isaac’s Way at 649 Queen Street in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
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Isaac’s Way is a fine dining restaurant as well as an art gallery. Since 2007, they have held 19 showings and auctions of the work of local artists. Paintings are shown in the restaurant and sold by silent auction. A large part of the money raised from the sale of the paintings goes to sponsor a charity. The auction ending January 26, for example, will go to help enable underprivileged children to take winter music lessons. For more information and for a look at the art in the most recent showing (ending January 26th, 2014 at 9:00 PM) go to http://isaacsway.ca/art/
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If you are in the Fredericton area, I encourage you to visit Isaac’s Way, to see the paintings and enjoy the comfortable atmosphere and delicious menu items.
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Copyright 2014 Jane Tims
endings and beginnings (day 58 to 60)
During the Christmas break, I completed my 60 day virtual bike trip along the south coast of Cornwall. The final two days of my trip took me beyond the heathlands of Goonhilly Down, toward the southern-most extent of England, near Lizard and Landewednack.
hotel and seascape near Landewednack (image from Street View)
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distance travelled from day 58 to day 60 (map from Google Earth)
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7-58 December 16, 2013 30 minutes 3.0 km (from Kuggar to Cadgwith)
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7-59 December 19, 2013 30 minutes 3.0 km (from Cadgwith to Cadgwith ‘Turn’)
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7-60 December 21, 2013 35 minutes 3.0 km (from Cadgwith ‘Turn’ to Lizard)
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This completes Phase 7 of my virtual biking adventure. My ‘trip’ began on January 30, 2013 as a way of encouraging me to do more exercise on my stationary bicycle. It has taken me (in Phase 1 to 5) from Lusignan, France to La Patache, France and (in Phase 7) from Rame, UK to Landwednack, UK.
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In Phase 7, I biked for 180 km and 1980 minutes. This represents an overall improvement in the length of each of my biking sessions (in Phase 1 to 6, I biked for 196.8 km and 1975 minutes).
In total, I have biked for 376.8 km and 3955 minutes! I have improved my health, my mobility and my stamina, although I have not lost any weight. And I have been able to see and get to know the interesting and magical countryside of central France and the southern Cornwall coast!
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map showing distance travelled in Phase 7, from Rame to Landewednack (map from Google Earth)
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Of course, I am going to continue with my biking adventures. However, I want to change gears a bit and do some virtual biking closer to home. At my brother-in-law’s suggestion, I am going to do Phase 8 of my virtual cycling in New Brunswick, where I live. This will help me develop a portfolio of watercolours of more local scenes. Since I have actually travelled most of the roads I will see in Street View, I will be able to tell some stories of past adventures. It will also introduce my readers to the beautiful landscape of New Brunswick and a little of our regional history.
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In Phase 8 of my virtual travel, I will start in northern New Brunswick, in Campbellton, and follow along the coast of the Baie de Chaleur to the city of Bathurst for a distance of about 110 km. This is the area I explored in the 1980s as part of my work on air quality in the province. It is also an area where we have taken various drives and vacations.
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I hope you will continue to follow me on my virtual adventures!
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
heathland and heather (day 57)
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7-57 December 12, 2013 30 minutes 3.0 km (from Ponsongath to Kuggar)
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Something different has appeared in the maps of the area where I am ‘travelling’. Today’s virtual bike trip took me just south of a large ‘brown’ area of topography (seen in the aerial photo above). To find out about this area, I turned my stationary cycle for a side trip in the direction of Gwenter, just to the north of my planned path.
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The area I found is anything but brown (Street View images were done in July). These are the Goonhilly Downs, a raised plateau of heathlands above serpentinite rock. Besides being a Site of Special Scientific Interest and the home of many rare plants, the heathlands are the location of a large windfarm (I could just see the turbines in the distance) and the Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station (the largest in the world).
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Goonhilly Downs … wind turbines and satellite dishes are just visible along the horizon (image from Street View)
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From the road I could see expanses of grass, tufts of fern, and ericaceous shrubs. Patches of purple reminded me of the Rhodora that blooms here in spring. From my reading about the Cornwall heathlands, I am certain this plant must be Cornish heath (Erica vagans), a species of heather common in Cornwall. I have a small patch of heather growing in my own garden, so this plant has a spot in my heart. I first learned about heathers in our history club in high school – we took a field trip to see the heathers growing abundantly in Point Pleasant Park in Halifax. They grow there in a 3300 square meter patch, called the ‘Heather Patch’, south of the Cambridge Battery. The heathers are not native but grow there as an escape – from the stuffing in the bedrolls of British soldiers in the 1700s!
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December 17, 2013 ‘Goonhilly Down’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
Christmas lights in Cornwall (day 56)
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As I continue my virtual bike trip along the Cornwall Coast, I am heading towards Day 60 when I will reach Lizard and the southern-most point of England.
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7-56 December 9, 2013 30 minutes 3.0 km (from Coverack to Ponsongath)
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On the 56th day of my bike trip, I could not seem to find an image to paint. Then I took a side road northward and was inspired by a string of coloured lights across a walled courtyard. Perhaps they were not lights at all, but brightly coloured clothespins on a line. In any case, I saw my painting in my mind’s eye!
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It was only after I painted this and showed it to my husband, I realised I had painted a string of Christmas lights! The lights in the Street View image could have been patio lanterns, but my paint brush was thinking Christmas!!!
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December 10, 2013 ‘lights near St. Keverne’ Jane Tims
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One of the light bulbs in my painting has burned out and has not been replaced.
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
return to the shore (day 54 and 55)
For a few days of my virtual travel along the Cornwall coast, I haven’t been seeing much of the coast. This is because my route took me inland, to skirt the tributaries of the Helford River. Now, though, I am travelling along the coast again.
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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Earth)
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7-54 December 4, 2013 35 minutes 3.0 km (from Porthoustock to St. Keverne)
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This is the famous Lizard Coast, called, not for the serpentine rock in the area, or for any reptile, but after the Cornish word meaning ‘high court’ (Lys Ardh). I have seen a few references to the Lizard, including this sign in St. Keverne …
sign showing a lizard in St. Keverne (image from Street View)
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7-55 December 6, 2013 35 minutes 3.0 km (from St. Keverne to Coverack)
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I haven’t attempted many people in my paintings, but in the watercolour below, I tried to capture a couple of the many people I saw enjoying the walk along the coastal road in Coverack. With artists’ licence, I paired two people who in real-life have likely never met one another !!!!
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December 10, 2013 ‘walking in Coverack’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
horses in a field (day 53)
7-53 December 1, 2013 35 minutes 3.0 km (from north of Porthallow to Porthoustock)
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This week on my stationary bike trips and my virtual tour of Cornwall, I saw this group of horses near Porthallow. They stood so serenely in the field, I decided to paint them.
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As anyone who knows me will tell you, I am not always comfortable around animals. I like horses and I have ridden, but this little story will tell you how afraid I am. When my sister went to England years ago, she asked me to take care of her horse for the summer. Marengo was a kind horse, and never did anything to frighten me, but my approach to feeding him probably made him wonder. I would go to one end of the pasture, count out his ‘leaves’ of hay and spread them for him to eat. By the time he got to the hay, I would be running to the other end of the fence to measure out his oats. That way, I could feed him but never have to stay near him! What a dreadful story. Most girls would be delighted to have care of a horse for a whole summer!
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
water and glass (days 51 and 52)
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Today, I’ll let my paintings speak for themselves…
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7-51 November 29, 2013 30 minutes 3.0 km (from St. Anthony-in-Meneage to south of Flushing)
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December 1, 2013 ‘swans on Gillan Creek’ Jane Tims
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7-52 December 1, 2013 35 minutes 3.0 km (from south of Flushing to north of Porthallow)
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December 1, 2013 ‘reflections in Porthallow’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
a closer look at trees (days 48, 49 and 50)
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One of the natural history lessons learned during my trip to California concerned the oak. On a trip to ‘Safari West’ near Santa Rosa, our guide pointed out the scarred trunks of various trees. The bark was embedded with acorns! The Acorn Woodpecker places the acorns in holes in the bark of these trees, storing them for a later source of food. The storage trees or ‘granaries’ are used over and over through the years!
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acorns planted in a ‘granary’ tree by the Acorn Woodpecker
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Perhaps as a result of seeing so many new tree species in California, I have looked more closely at the trees I see in Street View as I cycle ‘virtually’ along the Cornwall coast. Identification is usually difficult since the images do not show details. However, occasionally a leafy branch is close enough to see the leaves clearly. So far, I have seen the Common Ash, the Field Maple, and the English Oak. In the image below, you can see the lobed leaves of the English Oak.
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lobed leaves of an English Oak along the road to St. Anthony (image from Street View)
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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Earth)
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7-48 November 21, 2013 30 minutes 3.0 km (from Mawgan to St. Martin)
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November 26, 2013 ‘oak on Fords Hill’ Jane Tims
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7-49 November 23, 2013 35 minutes 3.0 km (from St. Martin to Helford)
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November 26, 2013 ‘maple and oak near Helford’ Jane Tims
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7-50 November 25, 2013 30 minutes 3.0 km (from Helford to St. Anthony-in-Meneage)
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Oak and Ash along the road to St. Anthony (image from Street View)
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
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