Getting Creative in Cornwall

July 25, 2018

This weekend I went to Cornwall, armed with a large canvas, paints, brushes and my easel.  Super stockist of my Cityscape canvas tote bags: Weird Fish, had invited me to their new coastal inspired store in Falmouth to create a large canvas to celebrate Cornwall and its unique culture.

  

It always takes me a little while to set up. I have to ensure that my paints are in the right order, the canvas is at the correct angle and my coffee cup is kept well away from my paints. It has been known for me to drink ink by mistake when lost in a creative moment. After three slurps of the hot brown liquid I am away …

 

 

The illustration started and ended in the sea, as much activity and culture are influenced by the waters around this wild and wonderful English peninsular.  I love to draw surfers riding the big waves of the Atlantic Ocean, which I was jumping into the following day at Porthtowan Beach. A big basking shark follows closely behind them and indeed last week one was spotted swimming around the bay in St Ives. The sea glitters with little blue dashes as the sun’s rays bounce of the bright aquamarine water.

  

I love it when the design just takes a life of its own, which is usually in response to what people tell me they love about Cornwall. My live Cityscape therefore included the mermaid of Zennor, which I knew nothing about until customers at Weird Fish told me about this magical maiden-come-fish.  Can you find her hiding in the sea?

  

Cornish ice cream and the revered Cornish pasty feature in the design too.  When I was a teenager our family holidays were often camping in Cornwall. Most of my time was spent on the beach, playing rounders and surfing on a lilo. I lived on a diet of Cornish Pasties. It did me no harm.

After the Cityscape I went camping in Cornwall again, this time with my partner John. The airbed was airless at 3am, early bird campers woke us when they packed up and left at dawn but I was undeterred. This weekend I will be camping with the Girl Guides and sharing a view of the lunar eclipse.  It will have to try hard to beat the amazing sunset we soaked up at Porthtowan.

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