Posts Tagged ‘art’
California #3 – the Pacific Ocean
When I went to California, I wanted to do four things: see my brother and my sister-in-law in their new home, drive over the Golden Gate Bridge, see Star Trek Academy (or its eventual location) and stick my toe in the Pacific Ocean. The first three were easy, but seeing the Pacific and touching it were two different things. We saw it almost immediately from the plane. Then we walked along Fishermen’s Wharf, watched the boats bobbing in the quay, walked among the Bay fish at the Aquarium and travelled on the Bay Cruise around Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge twice. Beyond the Golden Gate Bridge, I experienced some of the power of the Pacific Ocean. As you cross under the Bridge, the water turns very choppy and churns and twists and swells.
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Once we got to Calistoga, my brother gave us his car for the day and my son and I headed across the winding roads of the Calistoga hills. Thanks to our GPS and my son’s piloting skills, we reached the coast with little problem. The waves were gorgeous – big white breakers on a blue ocean and a blue sky in the background. Surfers were riding the biggest of the waves. However, we couldn’t seem to find a way down to the beach that wouldn’t wreck my knees, so we contented ourselves with the view. Then we ate at the ‘Tides’ restaurant, at a seat near the window directly over the water. It was so close we both felt as though we were moving!
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Our last stop was at Goat Rock. After a snail’s pace and a harrowing descent of very twisty roads, we reached the beach, but after reading the signs (they said it is the most dangerous beach in California for undertows), we decided to content ourselves with walking in the deep sand. As we turned from the ocean to return to Calistoga, I wondered why I was not disappointed at not getting my feet wet. The answer … I intend to return again and I’ll poke my toes in then!!!!
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Since my son has all our photos, I will share some photos and my painting of the Atlantic Ocean (Lawrencetown Beach) from my visit this spring with my other brother.
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November 16, 2013 ‘Lawrencetown Beach, Nova Scotia’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
California #2 – loving limes
Since I am a botanist, it is no surprise – one of my favorite experiences in California was seeing the vegetation. Lime, orange and lemon trees were everywhere. One of the best lime trees was in my brother’s yard. It had more limes than leaves! It was en route to their new restaurant, 1226 Washington, opening soon in Calistoga.
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
the colour of November #2 – wood for the winter
November in New Brunswick can be bleak. Before the snow is on the ground, the colours are dominated by browns and greys. Like the browns and greys in our woodpiles.
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We have several woodpiles. These include ranks of large round wood, cut and split into stove lengths, and stored in our shed. We also have spruce and fir kindling, chopped fine to start the fire. In the garage is a pile of smaller round wood, mostly the limbs trimmed from our maple trees. This smaller wood will be the base for our fires, a way for the flames to step from the kindling to the bigger wood.
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Nov. 14, 2013 ‘wood for winter’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
autumn corn
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When I think of the fall, I always think about corn – the rustling of the cornstalks in the fields, shucking corn for a corn-boil, eating corn-on-the-cob. In New Brunswick, the corn has been harvested by now, but I thought I’d try a watercolour.
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On a trip a couple of years ago, we were very impressed by the huge cornfields. I took many photos, including this one …
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At the time, I was doing pencil sketches for my Blog and I did this sketch from the photo …
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This is my watercolour, done a few days ago from the same photo …
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October 28, 2013 ‘September corn’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
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
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
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
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