Posts Tagged ‘virtual travel’
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
jet-lag (days 46 and 47)
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I had a great time during my week in California, but it has been hard to return to my regular routines. The four-hour time shift left me out of sync. For about ten days after arriving home, I was constantly sleepy, napping at odd times through the day. I also had a hard time regulating my eating and for a few days, breakfast was a three course meal (doesn’t make sense since in California, I would still be sleeping).
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I slacked off my biking as well and after only two 30 minute sessions in 10 days, I woke one morning to find my knee in pain and almost locked into a bent position. Besides its other benefits, I think the stationary biking keeps my knee flexible and lubricated. I started biking again every two days and now my knee is back to ‘normal’.
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7-46 November 13, 2013 35 minutes 3.0 km (from Port Navas to Constantine)
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Being able to climb stairs easily is important, especially since I wanted to try out this set of stone stairs along the road in Cornwall …
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November 21, 2013 ‘stone stair near Constantine’ Jane Tims
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My experience with jet-lag has shown me how much easier it is to just hop on my stationary bike and see the Cornwall coast via Street View.
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7-47 November 19, 2013 30 minutes 3.0 km (from Constantine to Mawgan)
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The route for the last few days of my virtual travel has taken me across the inlets of the Helford River. This is interesting to me since I worked on waterways for so much of my career. I also saw a flock of ducks on the water of the Mawgan Creek, also worthy of a look since Street View captures so little wildlife.
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A short distance farther along, the road crosses another branch of Mawgan Creek. It was a good subject for a watercolour, so I tried to capture the reflections in the water and the contrast between the soft vegetation and the hard stone bridge. In a lazy mood (more jet-lag???), I decided to use a spatter technique to give some interest to the scene. I got a little carried away with the red!
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November 18, 2013 ‘Mawgan Creek’ Jane Tims
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I coped so badly with my ‘jet-lag’ experience, I now have renewed admiration for those who must travel constantly because of their work.
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I’d love to hear about your experiences with ‘jet-lag’.
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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
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
