Water, water everywhere

I am happy to report that we had a couple of days rain, the plants, gardens, parks, waterways and forests had a much needed drink of water.


Todays post also has a watery theme. We recently spent a wonderful day on the water; I like seeing the land from the water, quite a different perspective.

 

 





"I must go down to the sea again
For the call of the running tide
It's a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied."

John Masefield

The title of the post is from the "Ryme of the Ancient Mariner" by S. T. Coleridge. Here is a short excerpt:

Day after day, day after day,

We stuck, nor breath nor motion;

As idle as a painted ship

Upon a painted ocean.

Water, water, every where,

And all the boards did shrink;

Water, water, every where,

Nor any drop to drink



 

Our voyage was peaceful and happily there was no shortage of water or food!

 

 

Detail above from the sail.

 

"Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made,

 for somewhere deep in their oaken hearts the soul of a song is laid."

Robert N. Rose

 

Fishing float above and fishing boat below.

 

Beautiful clear skies.

 

"He began in a tone of great taste and feeling, to talk of the sea and the sea shore."

Jane Austen

Interesting boats:

 

and views of the shore.

 

 

If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

 

We saw the occasional curious observer:

 

 

Mount Baker in the distance below:

 

A couple of boats that appear to be past there best before dates:

 

 

 

“hark, now hear the sailors cry, 

smell the sea, and feel the sky 

let your soul & spirit fly, into the mystic...” 

― Van Morrison

 

 

Busy dock:

 

Another view of the shoreline:

 

And farewell to our hosts:

 

"Voyager upon life's sea;

To yourself be true,

And what'er your lot may be,

Paddle your own canoe."

Dr. Edward P. Philpots 1844

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My painting this week follows a similar theme.

 

It is a view of the Lighthouse at Point Atkinson from the water. Titled "Lighthouse Park" it is a watercolour:

 

 

 

"Point Atkinson Lighthouse was built in 1914 on granite boulders jutting out into Burrard Inlet in West Vancouver, Canada. The reinforced concrete structure replaced an earlier wood structure built in 1875. The concrete structure was considered at the time innovative in lighthouse design. It is now automated and still in use." Wikipedia

 

The lighthouse can be reached by hiking the Valley Trail in Lighthouse Park but the best view is from the water!

 

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That's all for today.

 

Thank you for all your kind comments on my last post,

 

thanks for stopping by,

 

Happy Whimsy Wednesday,

 

 Gillian

All aflutter

The summer days seem to float or flutter by, infinitely beautiful but too soon a memory.

I have seen so many butterflies this year, I don't know whether that is because of our hot dry weather or a fancy of Nature, but I am enjoying every wing beat.

Here are pictures of Swallowtail butterflies visiting a well named Butterfly bush.

"The Western Tiger Swallowtail is very similar to the other tiger swallowtails with its distinctive black stripes on a yellow background. The lunulate submarginal markings on the underside of the hindwing are all yellow, while the submarginal spots on the forewing underside form a band. The uppermost spot on the border of the hindwing above is yellow. Wingspan: 65 to 90 mm."

 (http://www.cbif.gc.ca/eng/species-bank/butterflies-of-canada/western-tiger-swallowtail/?id=1370403265809)

I find butterflies difficult to photograph because they don't stay still for long. They are more active with the hotter weather too. So when I spotted this Butterfly Bush covered with Western Swallowtail Butterflies I just had to stop and catch their flutter in my cameras shutter.

 

 

 

"Love is like a butterfly, it goes where it pleases and it pleases wherever it goes.
Love is like a butterfly, hold it too tight, it'll crush. Hold it too loose, it'll fly."

 

Author unknown

 

 

"I would like to think that the singer is the butterfly, and the drummer was just the little grub in the ground, working to become a caterpillar."
Robert Wyatt 

 

“I almost wish we were butterflies and liv'd but three summer days - three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain.” 
― John Keats

 

 

“We are all butterflies. Earth is our chrysalis.” 
― LeeAnn Taylor

 

 

“The caterpillar does all the work, but the butterfly gets all the publicity.” 
― George Carlin

 

"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough." 

Rabindranath Tagore

 

"Butterflies are self propelled flowers."R.H. Heinlein

 "We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."Maya Angelou

 

"Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower." 

Hans Christian Anderson

That's all the photographs I have for today, hope you have enjoyed them.

 

 

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Here is a painting that I did this week. It is an ink and watercolour painting of Siwash Rock in Stanley Park.





"Siwash Rock, also known by its Squamish name Skalsh or Slhx̱i7lsh, is a famous rock outcropping in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada's Stanley Park. A legend among the Indigenous Squamish surrounds the rock. It is between 15 and 18 metres tall (50–60 feet). It became known to mariners as Nine Pin Rock for its vague resemblance to a bowling pin at one point too."

 

"About 32 million years ago, a volcanic dike formed in the sedimentary rock that forms the foundation of the park (sandstone and mudstone). Magma was forced to the surface through a fissure in the Earth's crust creating the basalt stack, which is more resistant to erosion than the softer sandstone cliffs. Siwash Rock is the only such sea stack in the Vancouver area."

^Wikipedia

 

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Thank you for all your kind comments on my last post.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

happy Whimsy Wednesday,

 

Gillian

  

 

Catching Up

It is smoky here. Wild fires have blanketed the Metro Vancouver area (and many other areas of the province) in dense acrid smoke. The sky was yellowish on Sunday but the smoke is gradually dissipating here. It has been so dry this spring and summer and the risk of fire in the parks and forests is high and in many areas of the province it is extreme. Some fires are started by lightning but others are caused by people!

Here are some pictures I took before the "big smoke" when I visited Vancouver Island a couple of weeks ago. I was attending a painting course, and I have some pictures of that too.

Arbutus tree on Vancouver Island

Cormorant drying off after fishing

Flowers along the shoreline

 

Gull close-up

"True friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evils. Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life on a desert island...to find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing."

Baltasar Gracian

 

 

I loved the way this flower is growing up through the pilings:

 

 

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of a continent."

John Donne

  

 

There was a waterfront park near where I was staying and got pictures of the resident heron in the evening (looks like a watercolour painting to me) and in the bright early morning light.

 

 I went for a walk around Elk Lake to relax after the first days painting; there was a tree growing out of a small "island" in the lake. I stopped to photograph a raven who seemed as curious about me as I was about him. 

 

 

 The painting course was called "Reflections in Still Water". The painting is not finished yet but here are some pictures of my painting as it progressed.

First we painted in yellow and red washes in to the reflection and water area.

 

After the washes were completely dry we added a blue wash to the water, I added a second blue wash to darken the bottom of the painting.

 

Then we started painting the boats above and below the reflective line. That is how far I got by the end of the two day course.

 

When I got home I spent another 2 days working on the reflections and boat details, it is not finished yet, I estimate I have another days work to finish it. I hope to be able to show the finished painting by next week.

A belated Happy Canada Day, I took the day off, so no blog last week. Here are a couple of pictures I took on Canada Day:

 



 A very happy dog!

Flying the flag with pride.

 

 

To return to the "smoke" theme, below is a picture of the sun yesterday afternoon trying hard to penetrate the smoke. 

 

 

 

Not to diminish the seriousness of the situation but it did remind of a favorite song from a long time ago. Here is a link to Deep Purple and "Smoke on the Water".

 





I have finished this painting of basil named "Emerald Beauty":



 

It is ink and watercolour, or mixed media.

 

 It is the latest of my Food cards, which include a recipe card using the pictured ingredient. What are the recipes for these cards, take a look:

 

View at:http://www.pswhimsy.com/food-cards-series-22.html

 

or all the food cards at: http://www.pswhimsy.com/food.html

 

Next week I will show the last food painting in the series of twelve.

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 Until next time...

Thank you for all your kind comments on my last post.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

happy Whimsy Wednesday