Ballycaters6 x 12 oils
Newfoundland has its own language in many ways. So much so that there is even a Dictionary of Newfoundland English printed. Many of the words have origins in England or Ireland with some French connection, and are simply derivatives of the word. Some - well some are just plain odd.
Ballycater is one of those words. It is used to describe the ice that forms from salt sea spray on rocks. You can see this on the coast during the winter creating wonderful patterns on the rocks.This painting started with the on site watercolour sketch of the cliffs and sea at Middle Cove in Logy Bay. The sea was very rough and the spray worked its magic on the walls of rock.
7 comments:
A fabulous word and gorgeous painting. Thank you for ending the month on such a high note!
wonderful word! some local dialect words are just so descriptive
yes, I agree - we end the month on a high note - that sky in particular caught my eye, with really lovely subtle colours
Isn't it a wonderful word? Thank you Patricia.
Newfoundland can almost have its own language it seems Vivien. I first came across this word when I was dealing with some rescue award nominations. I had to go look it up!
We have a similar ice event around the Great Lakes. Huge walls of ice heave up around the perimiters of the lake. You can see a tiny picture of this massive wall here
http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/aheller/2008/03/small_ice-wave1.jpg
Thanks for both the new word and lovely work.
Isn't that amazing Lindsay? I love the colours in the ice. Turquoise appears out of nowhere.
I agree with you all-- Every time I open up this site I learn something new. Ballycater dances on the tongue, doesn't it? And the colors in ice is another whole world, isn't it?
annie
Despite seeing the title of your post quite a few times over the past couple of days, I'm only reading now and it makes me smile. Yes... language and idiosyncrasies... in particular when describing local weather or environmental particularities are just wonderful... we should consider a dictionary along these lines?
Post a Comment