Down Kenidjack

 September 14th, 2018, 7.00pm, plein air, oil on board, apprx. 20 x 15cm

September 15th, 2018, 2.30pm, plein air, oil on board, apprx. 20 x 15cm

The vibrant greens of summer are gradually yielding to the oranges, yellows and russets of autumn as the equinox approaches. The generally very dry weather this summer has had a great impact on the vegetation in the valley forcing a change to autumn colours somewhat earlier than one normally sees here.

The grasses and heather on the coast at Porth Nanven, usually still green and vibrant this time of year, are greyed and desiccated. Damp mists, fogs and brief periods of rain have made little real difference to the soil. The stream that flows from the moorland through this valley and out to sea is the lowest I’ve seen it during the nearly ten years I’ve lived here. It will be interesting to see what autumn and winter brings in terms of rainfall as a new El Niño gets underway in the Pacific.

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First light at the Cape, 15th September, 2018, 7.30am

plein air, oil on board apprx. 15  x 20 cm.

Down Kenidjack, 9th September, 2018, 7.30am

Plein air, oil on board apprx. 20x15cm

Early morning sun catching the rock faces at the far end of Kenidjack Valley towards Porth Nanven and the ocean.

 

Two Sunsets

September 3rd 7.40pm, 2018. Plein air, oil on board apprx. 20x15cm

September 4th 7.30pm, 2018. Plein air, oil on board apprx. 20x15cm

Down Kenidjack, 2nd September, 2018, 2.50pm

Plein air, oil on board, apprx. 20 x 15cm

Fog and drizzle ( pretty much the same as for much of the past week ) was forecast for today but instead the weather was fine and warm with broken cloud. It’s been a couple of years since I last painted this view down Kenidjack valley from alongside the ruins of the old calciner, so I thought I would re-visit the location and make a rather ‘deeper’ and more finished sketch while the weather held. The first signs of russets, oranges and yellows in the bracken are just becoming apparent now as autumn approaches.

At the Crowns, 28th August, 2018, 3.00pm

Plein air, oil on board, apprx. 20 x 15cm

At the Crowns, 18th August 2018, 3.50pm

Plein air, oil on board, apprx. 20 x 15cm

A view towards Kenidjack across the cliffs from the edge of the zawn overlooking the engine houses at the Crowns.  The forecast called for drizzle, but while cloudy, the drizzle held off.  I made my way to the Crowns to make a sketch of the engine houses in the cloudy weather ( I usually avoid the view as it’s so frequently photographed and painted ) and around half an hour into the work the skies began to clear. Rather than change it I put it aside for another day, and instead turned towards the southwest into the hazy, late afternoon sun to sketch the view above.