Sunday 24 January 2010

Islands




Piana, Southern Corsica, France
Watercolour 6 x 12 

Studying islands, whether small rocks rising out of the ocean, or larger land masses supporting population and economy has an appeal.  There are islands in all regions of the world and I can think of a number of them off Newfoundland, some supporting life and others isolated outcrops in the Atlantic. Accessing them to draw or paint on site or even take photos could be a challenge, but it may be worth exploring.

I have been meaning to do a little sketch of a view in Corsica this month through The Virtual Paintout, but haven't had much time lately.  I've wandered around the island and it has many similarities to Newfoundland in terms of geography - well just not the weather perhaps.  Islands tend to be rocky outcrops with links to the sea and land for income. Corsica has the benefit of warm weather for citrus and olive crops and the fame of being Napoleon Bonaparte's place of birth to aid tourism.


To those who don't live on an island, island life seems idyllic and in some ways it is.  In other ways it is problematic with services not as easily accessible as on a mainland.   The isolation of an island creates unique cultures in the arts, whether visual, music, literary or theatre.  Islands usually have flourishing artistic communities and tend to be welcoming places to those who want to become involved.

I wandered through parts of Corsica and found this vantage point overlooking the Mediterranean.  The rocky outcrops of cliffs and the sea stretching out to the clouds on the horizon remind me that all islands are connected to each other no matter where they are.

10 comments:

Making A Mark said...

I do so like loose painterly watercolours - I just wish this one were bigger Jeanette! It has simplicity and complexity at one and the same time.

vivien said...

nice one

Islands do have a special quality of light and all that lovely sea and coastline

You make me want to get out my watercolours again

Lindsay said...

Jeanette, you make me want to visit on very soon.

Jeanette Jobson said...

I like loose watercolours as well - I'm also detail driven - go figure!

Large as in the view of this on Watermarks or large as in physically Katherine?

Oh you should Vivien. You'd work wonders with them.

They have a fascination Lindsay and such a connection to each other in terms of culture and physical formation.

Making A Mark said...

large as in this particular image in the blog post. I'd have liked to see it bigger in the post but when I click it, it came up too big - but there seems to be something odd with Blogger images at the moment

Jeanette Jobson said...

Katherine, I've enlarged it a bit so hope its easier for you to see now when you click on it.

Making A Mark said...

Well now I'm wondering whether it's my end. The image is exactly the same size as before and is massive wheen you click it.

However I've noticed the same thing happening to some of my images where I know the size of the image loaded and the fact that it should not look massive when clicked - so maybe the problem is with Blogger?

I'm using the old template for images as I don't like the new one - it seems problematic

Sarah said...

it must be your computer K. It comes up a very good size on mine, not too big and not too small.
Nice granulation on the island colours Jeanette

Africantapestry and Myfrenchkitchen said...

Lovely work Jeanette..and you're right, islands have a charm and culture of its own. Corsica is a really beautiful island with beautful weather, but I wonder...is ther an island that isn't beautiful? Nice work!
I have no problems either with the image enlarging..works great.
Ronelle

Jeanette Jobson said...

Katherine it would seem your old template is more problematic than the new if the problem is at the blogger end for you. It may be worth experimenting with the new again.

I love how granulation happens in watercolour Sarah. Its always magic to me.

You're right Ronelle, all islands have their charm. I would like to visit Corsica in person but I think that here I can still get a good idea of similar rock formations. All islands are linked in some way.