Posts Tagged ‘gates’
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
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
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
walls, fences and gates 5-7
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hedge in Le Treuil Arnaudeau (image from Street View)
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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Maps)
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As I continue my virtual cycling through France, I am thinking about how differently people indicate their property boundaries in New Brunswick and France. In the Street View images of France, fences, hedges, walls and gates are the norm …
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various walls, hedges and gates in Le Treuil Arnaudeau (image from Street View)
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In New Brunswick, there are occasional fences and some hedges, but usually properties are left quite open and accessible …
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street in Fredericton Junction, New Brunswick (image from Street View)
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As I ‘cycle’ along in France, I have the impression that the French must be private people. I think I would find opening a gate to get to the front door of a house quite intimidating …
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gates for cars and people – note the small shrine in the nook in the stone wall (image from Street View)
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Barriers serve many purpose, of course:
- they improve security, creating a barrier to intruders
- they can be used to keep pets inside, or to keep children away from the road
- they can keep pests out of gardens (bad bunnies, for example)
- they usually add visual appeal to a property
- they mark property boundaries, preventing disputes with neighbors
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The high wall around the church yard in Montroy encloses a large cemetery ….
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wall around the cemetery and church in Montroy (image from Street View)
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Hedges, fences and walls also limit the visual intrusion of the outside world and create spaces where people can feel comfortable …
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creating private space with vegetation, walls and gates (image from Street View)
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I think barriers are an element of culture. People who are used to seeing fences come to expect them in the landscape. Fences and walls are also perceived differently by different cultures. Because I am not used to gates, I might be quite hesitant to open one in order to say hello to the property owner. However, someone who is familiar with walls and fences would probably open a gate without a second thought.
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Best View: a stone wall in Fontpatour. The mason who laid the stones took such care with his work. The corner stones create a strong framework and the small stones are in groups, interspersed with larger stone …
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
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