Posts Tagged ‘seaweed’
on the beach at Millendreath 7-8
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church at St. Martin (image from Street View)
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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Maps)
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On Day 8 of my virtual bike trip along the coast of Cornwall, I did three watercolors of the countryside. I can’t keep this up, but for now, I am enjoying learning about watercolor technique. My plan is to practice, using the scenes of Cornwall as my inspiration, and later, do a series of watercolors ‘en plein air‘ in an area of New Brunswick I know well.
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I began my biking in Millendreath on the beach looking toward Looe Island. I love the band of red seaweed, left by the waves at high tide. My waves need work – I have tried leaving white space and then highlighting the areas later with Titanium White, but this does not allow for splashy detail in the waves. I plan to try a product called ‘resist’ – it keeps small areas free of paint until it is removed. The name Millendreath sounds like it comes straight from the Lord of the Rings …
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July 13, 2013 ‘beach at Millendreath’ Jane Tims
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In St. Martin, I passed by the Parish church …
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July 13, 2013 ‘Parish Church, St. Martin’ Jane Tims
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On the high land above Millendreath, the scenes are of distant hills and fields …
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July 13, 2013 ‘countryside near St. Martin’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
seaweed for gardens and vines for trees 6-11
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greenery in a walled yard (image from Street View)
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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Earth)
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I am nearing the end of Phase 6 of my virtual cycling trip through central France, but I am seeing so many interesting things, it is hard to look forward to the end. Today I saw a man digging seaweed into his garden. He had spread the seaweed uniformly across his garden and was slowly digging it into the soil …
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man digging seaweed into the garden (image from Street View)
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I am interested in gardening, so of course, I stopped to talk …
Jane: Bonjour. ‘Qu-est-ce que vous ajoutez au jardin???’ (‘Hello! What is it you are digging into your garden?’)
Gardener: ‘Bonjour. Ce sont des algues marines! Il sont très bon pour le sol.’ (‘Hello. I am adding seaweed. It is very good for the soil.’)
Jane: ‘Bon pour le sol? C’est vrai?’ (‘Good for the soil. Is that true?’)
Gardener: ‘Mais oui! Ils ajoutent la nourriture et les matières organiques aux sol!’ (‘Of course! They add nutrients and organic matter to the soil!’)
Jane: ‘D’où est-ce que vous avez obtainer ces algues marines?’ (‘Where did you get the seaweed?’)
Gardener: ‘Ah, juste à côté de l’ocean! Ils ne coûtent rien!’ (‘Ah, just by the ocean!’ It’s free!!!’)
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Using seaweed on gardens is common on this side of the Atlantic Ocean also. For example, in his book Vineyard Chill (Scribner, New York, 2008), Phillip R. Craig opened his mystery novel with a family going to the beach to gather seaweed for their garden on Martha’s Vineyard.
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There was lots of evidence of gardening and green thumbs on this part of my bike drive across Ile de Ré …
greenhouses on Ile de Ré (image from Street View)
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Best View: old trees, their trunks covered with vines (I loved doing this watercolor so much, I tried three versions) …
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June 17, 2013 ‘vine-covered trees #1’ Jane Tims
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June 17, 2013 ‘vine-covered trees #2’ Jane Tims
June 18, 2013 ‘vine-covered trees #3’ Jane Tims
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This is the view that inspired the paintings …
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vine-covered trees (image from Street View)
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
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