Christmas in Falmouth, Cornwall

“In the South remains a burning fire, in the East a void, in the West a world of raging waters.” William Blake 

 I spent Christmas in Falmouth with my beloved friend Sarah and her family.

"At Falmouth,  as I have said, we are in a different atmosphere.  Here you have all the calm and comfort and retirement of a haven." 

Unknown Cornwall, p. 83

Falmouth Palette

We stayed at a wonderful pub inn called Jacob's Ladder

It's a lovely old town with a lot of texture and soft pastel color.

Sometimes a bit of red shows up.

Being half Jewish I was taken a back by the name "Market Jew Street" in Penzance which I later learned was a bastardization of old Cornish Marghas Yow and was really Thursday Market and had nothing to do with Jews.  Yow is derived from Jove like Jovedi in French. While doing that research I learned a bit about the history of Jews in Cornwall.  At the very beginning of my Christmas morning walk through Falmouth I came across this old synagogue.  I will have to do some research on why it closed in 1880.

This is the front door to the same building.

The light is so different than California.  It's almost as if there is no light.  The color blue is gone.

The textures are fascinating.

I hope one day to spend more time in Falmouth.  I'd love to sketch in the Maritime Museum and visit some of the many galleries.  But I had to get back to Brisons Veor and my artist's residency.

Brisons Veor - Palettes

“. . . In Cornwall you are in touch with ancient things, and with strange memories, with a people who thoughts and visions are marvelously remote from those of a crowded populace.” P.4 Unknown Cornwall 1925

 I’m on my third day of my artist's residency at Brisons Veor in Cape Cornwall,  England.  I have horrible jet lag and don't seem to be sleeping at all.  Although I'm feeling under the weather I truly want to be productive.

I left the beautiful house on the sea at around 2:15 pm today to take a walk up the hill to the nearby town of St. Just.  I thought maybe if I got moving a bit more I might sleep better tonight.   The colors are so interesting here that I decided to do a few digital palette studies from some of the photos I took on the walk. 

There's palettes are not definitive.  They are just quick studies that could use a lot more refinement.  All the colors and the light is so different from California.  I'm not sure what I will do with these palettes but I thought I should make them. Here they are.