the colour of November #1 (Winterberry red)
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Last week, we went out to our cabin to do some reading and cutting of the ever-growing vegetation. In spite of the mower and the thinning saw and regular prunings, the field seems to grow vegetation behind your back. When you turn around, an alder or a birch tree has filled in a patch you thought was only grass.
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As we planned a new path across the field, we considered each sapling before we cut. To our surprise, we found another bush of Winterberry Holly (Canada Holly, Ilex verticillata (L.) Gray). Many grow down by the lake, but up in the field by our cabin, we know only of one other.
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This time of year their leaves are bronzed and brown and their berries are orange-red. The berries will persist on the leafless branches all through the winter.
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The berries of the Winterberry Holly are so much fun to paint. I started with a layer of red, added orange and then layers of white, yellow and red in turn. I finished with a dot of black and a dot of white on the majority of the berries.
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October 27, 2013 ‘Winterberry red’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
stiles and blue stones (day 44 and day 45)
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How do you get over a fence or a wall if it is too high to step over???
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You can use a stairway or a stile !!!
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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Earth)
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7-44 October 30, 2013 30 minutes 3.0 km (from Mawnan to north of Durgan)
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Near Durgan, I saw a stone stairway along the road. As I painted, I began to believe that I saw a blue stone among the others (when I look at the photo now, I think it was a trick of the eye!). Can you find the blue stone? (Hint: it is not one of the two blue stones in the bottom course of stones)!
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inspiration for ‘blue stone’ (image from Street View)
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October 25, 2013 ‘blue stone’ Jane Tims
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7-45 November 1, 2013 30 minutes 3.0 km (Durgan to Port Navas)
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A short way from Durgan, I also saw a stile. I have seen several stiles along my virtual journey, but this is the first stile I have see made entirely of stone. A stile is a structure built in a fence, wall or other barrier to allow people to pass but keep animals in. Stiles were often required in the UK but no standard guidelines to their construction were issued, so many styles of stile are found! Stiles can consist of a ladder, steps, or even a narrow gap in a stone wall.
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stile near Mawnan (image from Street View)
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As a kid, I loved to hear about stiles. One of the stories my Mom told me was about the Old Woman who had a Pig who wouldn’t go over the stile. She found a Dog and said ‘Dog, Dog, bite Pig so Pig will go over the stile and I can get home to my supper tonight!’ After talking to many animals, items and people, the woman finally succeeds. ‘The Man began to marry the Maid, the Maid began to milk the Cow, the Cat began to drink the milk, the Cat began to kill the Rat, the Rat began to gnaw the Rope, the Rope began to hang the Butcher, the Butcher began to kill the Ox, the Ox began to drink the Water, the Water began to quench the Fire, the Fire began to burn the Stick, the Stick began to beat the Dog, the Dog began to bite the Pig, the Pig jumped over the stile, and so the Old Woman got home to get her supper’.
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A rather violent tale for children as many children’s stories are. But as a child, I loved the repetition and the idea of consequence, and the knowledge that the Old Woman got her supper.
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When we first built our house, we built a stile over the fence by the front gate and it was so much fun to step over!
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inspiration for ‘stile near Durgan’ (image from Street View)
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October 26, 2012 ‘stile near Durgan’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
dooryards and doorways (day 41 to 43)
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In the Falmouth area of the Cornwall coast, my eye has been drawn to the human landscape, in particular the dooryards and doorways …
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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Earth)
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7-41 October 18, 2013 35 minutes 3.0 km (within Falmouth)
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On the 41st day of my virtual cycling trip along the coast of Cornwall, I spent all my time in the city of Falmouth. The best part of the trip was along High Street where the store fronts and signage make me want to stop and look around. Lots of people too!
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The fence post and red door in the image below resulted in my favorite watercolour to date. I love the colour red!
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October 15, 2013 ‘door in Harbour Village’ Jane Tims
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7-42 October 23, 2013 30 minutes 3.0 km (from Falmouth to south of Goldenbank)
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October 23, 2013 ‘Roscarrack Road’ Jane Tims
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7-43 October 27, 2013 35 minutes 3.0 km (from Goldenbank to Mawnan)
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When I paint, I often edit out the items I don’t consider to be ‘beautiful’. For me, this includes garbage cans, litter, plastic of any kind, and so on. For example, in the watercolour below, I ignored the background. However, I think that great art probably hides in those not-so-pretty necessities of life …
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inspiration for ‘gate on Old Church Road’ (image from Street View)
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October 24, 2013 ‘ gate on Old Church Road’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
the colour of October #2 (Tansy yellow)
So many colours! The orange of the big pumpkin on our doorstep. The reds and yellows of the Red Maple leaves in piles under our feet. The bright white of the moon this month. The golden colour of the needles of the Tamarack now falling with every breath of wind.
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The colour that has inspired me this week is the yellow of Tansy (Tansy vulgare L.) still bright along the road in Fredericton. The flowers are like brilliant yellow buttons.
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I couldn’t duplicate the colour with the yellows in my watercolour palette, but after layers of alternating yellow and white, I have realised how wonderful the yellows of nature really are!
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October 27, 2013 ‘Tansy’ Jane Tims
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In a month’s time, the bright yellow heads of the Tansy will be black!
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
writing a novel – still editing
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Title: unknown
Working Title: Saving the Landing Church
Setting: a writers’ retreat, including an abandoned church
Characters: main character Sadie, a writer; her husband Tom; people from the community
Plot: the story of how Sadie tries to win over a community in order to preserve an abandoned church
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Still editing.
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I am on Draft #7 of my novel. In this draft I am going chapter by chapter through the whole novel to look for opportunities for improvement:
- I need to make sure I am showing, not telling. Instead of telling the reader that Sadie is afraid, I try to show the reader her fear, by writing about her accelerated heart rate, her dry throat, how her shoes seem stuck to the floor, and so on.
- I need to be sure I not only describe how the scene looks, but also include the smells, the sounds and the tactile experiences.
- I am still looking for words I repeat in consecutive lines, a hard-to-break habit of mine …
One of the tools I have constructed to help me with fine edits is a chart about the characters. I have character sketches (in both words and drawings) for each person in my novel, but it is tedious to refer to these over and over. So, I constructed a table with the important details – how old the person is, what they look like, and so on.
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Especially helpful is a list of the words he or she uses. For example, Sadie says ‘dinner’ for the six o’clock meal. Her husband says ‘supper’. Sadie uses the word ‘graveyard’, while most of the local people say ‘cemetery’.
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I have 44 characters in my book, including both major, minor and dead characters. This is probably too many, but it is a book about a community. Here is my table for a few of my characters:
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| Character | Occupation | Nickname | Characteristics | Age in 2005 | Words they use |
| Sarah Hatheway | writer | Sadie | Plain, thin, oval face, short brown hair | 42 | Bed and Breakfast; silly; retreaters; dinner; graveyard |
| Tom Hatheway | welder | Sadie’s husband; strong, short grey hair, pale | 48 | B & B; hey girl; clients; supper; graveyard | |
| Oliver Johnston | minister | 42 | graveyard; supper | ||
| Emma Southkind | homemaker | Keeps a journal; solid; yellow purse; curly grey hair, gentle | 59 | cemetery; supper | |
| Mark Southkind | retired train conductor | 60 | cemetery | ||
| Katherine Birch | writing coach | Kitty | Language a bit coarse | 62 | graveyard; dinner |
| Alexandra Connelly | student | Tall; long brown hair | 16 | supper | |
| Joe Connelly | accountant | Alexandra’s dad; widowed; tall | 45 | graveyard |
gates and wirescape (day 38-40)
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On Day 38 to Day 40 of my virtual bike trip along the Cornwall coast, colourful houses and storefronts caught my eye …
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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Earth)
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7-38 October 8, 2013 25 minutes 3.0 km (Penopal to south of Mylor Bridge)
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As usual, I also loved the gates I ‘saw’ along the way. The gate below, on the road to Mylor Bridge, had shaped posts. When I painted them, however, they looked like milk bottles, so I squared them off. I took other liberties with this one as well …
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inspiration for ‘gate on Carclew Road’ (image from Street View)
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October 12, 2013 ‘gate on Carclew Road’ Jane Tims
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7-39 October 11, 2013 35 minutes 3.0 km ( south of Mylor Bridge to Mylor)
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The houses in Mylor Bridge are quite colourful, so I stopped to paint this row. Painting the wire overhead takes a steady hand and concentration …
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inspiration for ‘houses in Mylor Bridge’ (image from Street View)
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October 12, 2013 ‘houses in Mylor Brdge’ Jane Tims
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7-40 October 13, 2013 30 minutes 3.0 km (Mylor to Flushing)
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More colourful houses caught my eye as I ‘biked’ along the Penryn River near Flushing. The purple pigment would not cooperate so the tumble of flowers ended up red in the painting! …
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inspiration for ‘dooryard in Flushing’ (image from Street View)
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October 14, 2013 ‘dooryard in Flushing’ Jane Tims
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The scene below is from somewhere along the streets of Falmouth, just across the Penryn River from Flushing. I loved the colourful houses and storefronts but after I had painted the scene, I could not find the image in Street View. I wonder what the woman in the painting would think if she knew she was the star of my Blog today! …
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October 14, 2013 ‘side walk’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
writing a novel – plotting the change
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Title: unknown
Working Title: Saving the Landing Church
Setting: a writers’ retreat, including an abandoned church
Characters: main character Sadie, a writer; her husband Tom; people from the community
Plot: the story of how Sadie tries to win over a community in order to preserve an abandoned church
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In writing and editing my novel, I have had to turn my attention to the plot, again and again.
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Last November, when I started to write my novel, I learned quickly – stories usually are built on the concept of change.
- the main character wants something (a need)
- The character sets about trying to fill the need and is thwarted at every turn
- In the end, they either fill the need or they don’t
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During the story, the main character must be altered in some way.
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this is my main character, Sadie … how will she be changed during the novel? She does look like she could use a hair salon …
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As my novel has progressed, I have realised that Sadie not only wants the church, she wants the church with the blessing of the community
How does Sadie change? Her understanding of the community and her attitude towards the community changes. She realises that ‘community’ is a necessary component of the church she wants so badly … without the community, the church is just a hollow building …
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To make certain my main character is changing and growing in the right direction, I’ve plotted out her understanding, her attitude and her progress with respect to the community …
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This excerpt from my writing journal will make no sense to you, but it shows that I write to make the novel and the characters progress towards an end. If I encounter something in the plot (or the subplots) that does not fit, I look at it again and rewrite or reorder events …
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If you write short or long fiction, how do you make sure the plot is always moving in the direction you intend?
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
fields and ferry crossings
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7-35 September 30, 2013 35 minutes 3.0 km (north of St. Just in Roseland to ferry across River Fal)
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The thirty-fifth day of my virtual bike trip left me scrambling for an image to paint. I biked over miles of country road and although the countryside is lovely, I couldn’t seem to find an image that ‘spoke’ to me. In this end, I chose a tree along the road to Philleigh. Greens are so difficult for me – I couldn’t seem to achieve anywhere near the yellow hue of the greens in the photo …
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inspiration for ‘countryside near Philleigh’ (image from Street View)
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Oct. 3, 2013 ‘countryside near Philleigh’ Jane Tims
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7-36 October 2, 2013 35 minutes 3.0 km (ferry across River Fal to Feock)
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Ferry crossings are always fun. The Ferry across the River Fal didn’t look very different from the crossings here in New Brunswick …
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the blue flat-decked boat is the ferry … and look at the big ship just up river (image from Street View)
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I especially liked the house where the ferry docked on the west side of the river – lots of flowers and stone …
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September 27, 2013 ‘flowers near River Fal’ Jane Tims
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7-37 October 8, 2013 25 minutes 3.0 km (Foeck to Penpol)
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If the thirty-fifth day of my travels was mostly fields, the thirty-seventh was mostly trees. I love the circular ‘tree tunnels’ formed along the Cornwall roads when the hedgerows are pruned. In this interpretation of one of one of those archways, I decided not to paint a single individual leaf …
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inspiration for ‘road tunnel near Penpol’ (image from Street View)
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October 3, 2013 ‘road tunnel near Penpol’ Jane Tims
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Along the way, I often ‘see’ enchanting gateways. I particularly like the gates with stone post like this one near Feock …
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October 4, 2013 ‘gate near Feock’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
the colour of October #2 – Red Oak
Our leaves have reached the ‘world on fire’ stage. We took a drive along the St. John River to our cabin yesterday and were immersed in reds, oranges and yellows. I particularly like the Red Oak leaves. They lag behind the Red Maple – some are still green. But a few younger trees show vermillion and orange and purple to rival the maple.
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October 12, 2013 ‘Oak leaves’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
mudflats and hedgerows
For eight months now, I have been encouraging myself to exercise by pretending to cycle far from home. I use Street View in Google Earth to explore the countryside in parts of the world where I have never been except in imagination. From January 30, 2013 to June 28, 2013, I cycled virtually in Central France, from Lusignan to Ile de Ré. Since July 1, 2013, I have been following the coast in Cornwall, beginning in Rame. In each post, I have presented Street View images I have ‘seen’ along the road. I have also shown you the drawings and watercolours inspired by the images.
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Change is always refreshing to me, so I am going to alter the way I report my bike trips. In part I am doing this in order to be able to do more posts in my ‘colour of the month’ series and about writing my novel. I might also return to posting some of my poems.
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In each post, I’ll report on one or more of my days of exercise, and I will show you the drawing or watercolour and the Street View image that inspired the art. I hope you enjoy comparing the ‘real’ image with my artistic interpretation.
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map showing distance travelled for day 32 to day 34 (map from Google Earth)
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7-32 Sept. 24, 2013 40 minutes 3.0 km (Portscatho to Bohantha)
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South of Portscatho, fields are separated by hedges and rows of mature trees. I loved this view of trees against the blue water of the Atlantic …
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inspiration for ‘row of trees south of Portscatho’ (Image from Street View)
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September 21, 2013 ‘row of trees south of Portscatho’ Jane Tims
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7-33 Sept. 28, 2013 35 minutes 3.0 km (Bohantha to St. Mawes)
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My virtual bike trip on September 28 took me along the Froe River at low tide. The brown mud dominated the scene and reminded me of some of the areas around Moncton, New Brunswick where we have huge differences between high and low tide and spectacular carved mudflats …
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inspiration for ‘Froe Creek’ (image from Street View)
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September 19, 2013 ‘Froe Creek’ Jane Tims
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7-34 September 30, 2013 30 minutes 3.0 km (St. Mawes to St. Just in Roseland)
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I continue to be enchanted by the way the roadside vegetation is managed in Cornwall. There are strict rules about how and when to trim the vegetation of the verges (the area between the hedge and the road surface) and the hedge. The Cornish roadside hedges are unique in having a ‘stone and turf’ structure. The hedge is basically a stone-faced earth bank, The vertical face of the hedgerow is populated by ferns and flowering plants. On top of the hedge is turf or a shrubby hedgerow. This area is often occupied by oak and other mature tree species.
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The resulting environment provides habitat for wild life species, including the wild flowers that have been a delight along every bit of my virtual journey. When vines occupy the face of the hedge, it means the hedge has been cut back too severely.
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For a fascinating read, have a look at the leaflet ‘Cornish Hedge Management For hedges adjacent to highways’ at http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=13777
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inspiration for ‘road near St. Just in Roseland’ Image from Street View)
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September 26, 2013 ‘road near St. Just in Roseland’ Jane Tims
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I hope you have enjoyed this part of my virtual journey. Please let me know what you think when you compare my watercolours with the images that inspired them.
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
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