#2641 "March Out Like a Lamb"

#2641 "March Out Like a Lamb"
10x12 panel oil

There was a classic cold front on the western horizon. 

Radar view of cold frontal convection

There were two lines of convection along this front so it was quite possible that there was a second front involved in the dramatic change of air masses that Singleton was about to experience. The month of March was about to step out like a lamb and leave colder weather in its wake. The warm sector of plus 16 Celsius air was about to by replace by air much closer to freezing. 

The ice was still hanging on over the western basin of Singleton. Every now an again a chink of ice would break free to be carried by the current of the spring flood. Big chunks of ice would be driven onshore in the entrance to Jim Day Rapids. Water would drain from these landed pieces of ice and they would become bright white in dramatic contrast to their darker blue colours when they were floating. The chunks of bright white colour always caught our attention as we thought briefly that the swans had returned to feed. Those were large pieces of lake ice on the rocky points of Jim Day Rapids.

Water Vapour Satellite View of the Big Picture

The convective clouds were twisted and twirled. Crepuscular rays streaked almost everywhere through the skyscape and they were the challenge to depict realistically while remaining painterly at the same time. 

The weather is always interesting and we just need to take the time to appreciate what the clouds have to say. 

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#2640 "Singleton Warm Frontal Altocumulus Overcast"

#2640 "Singleton Warm Frontal Altocumulus Overcast"
10x12 panel oils

This was a classic warm frontal surface as viewed at 7 pm on Wednesday March 30th, 2022. 

The easterly cold conveyor belt was brisk setting up the conditions for a bout of freezing rain. The eastern basin of Singleton Lake was fairly calm being protected from the easterlies by the forest. Algonquin would experience a significant amount of icing with this event whereas the duration of the freezing rain at Singleton was overnight and fairly brief. There were no real impacts. 

The lake ice was still hanging on over the western basin of Singleton. Every now an again a chunk of ice would break free to be carried by the current of the spring flood. Big chunks of ice would be driven onshore in the entrance to Jim Day Rapids. Water would drain from these landed pieces of ice and they would become bright white in dramatic contrast to their darker blue colours when they were floating. The chunks of bright white colour always caught our attention as we thought briefly that the swans had returned to feed. 

Southwesterly Langmuir streaks were imbedded within the overcast. Some gravity wave appendages were attached to these streaks and those waves were perpendicular to the winds riding up over the wedge of cold air at the surface. 

The warm sector arrived Thursday afternoon and the temperatures soared to plus 16 Celsius for a brief before before the cold front arrived. The weather is always interesting and we just need to take the time to appreciate what the clouds have to say. 

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#2639 "Jim Day Spring Flood Shadows"

#2639 "Jim Day Spring Flood Shadows"
10x12 inches oil on panel

It was one of those rare spring days in the warm sector ahead of the next storm. The temperature got into the high teens Celsius and we sat out on the red chairs to enjoy a taste of the summer. There was still considerable snow on the north side of the point of land opposite Jim Day Rapids. That is also my swimming hole but the water temperature had some ways to go before I would throw my body into the current. This image was from 3:00 pm Tuesday March 22th, 2022 from the dock that projects into Jim Day Rapids. 

I always enjoy experimenting with how to capture the feel of a scene without getting into the nitty gritty of the details. This is especially true when trees are in front of the skyscape. Always fun!

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#2638 "Jim Day Spring Flood"

#2638 "Jim Day Spring Flood" 10x12 inches oil

It was one of those rare spring days in the warm sector ahead of the next storm. The temperature got into the high teens Celsius and we sat out on the red chairs to enjoy a taste of the coming summer. The water levels were very high and there was some local flooding but nothing like in 2014. The current through Jim Day Rapids was substantial. 

There was a massive spring storm on the way...

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#2637 "March Cold Snow Flurries"

#2637 "March Cold Snow Flurries"
11x14 panel oils

The cold front had passed through. Cold northwesterly winds were delivering flurries from Georgian Bay and it looked like winter again. The fresh snow turned the sodden ice on the western basin of Singleton Lake almost white again. The gravity waves embedded in the cold frontal surface indicated that the winds actually backed with height which is characteristic of the cold air advection. 

There are many ways to look at the same
weather patterns... along with your imagination. 

The sun broke through the clouds casting crepuscular rays everywhere. There were wings on someone's heart flying toward the light. The sun appeared to be standing on those crepuscular legs. The weather in March can be very diverse indeed and that might explain some of those unusual shapes. 

It was another smooth and slippery surface for this painting. 

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#2636 "Singleton Spring Cumulus"

#2636 "Singleton Spring Cumulus"
11x14 inches oil

The first of several cold fronts had passed through but the boundary layer still supported the energetic cumulus of spring – positively buoyant indeed. I wanted to preserve the energy of that sky within the oils on the panel. 

Those gravity waves in the altocumulus clouds were certainly riding the cold frontal surface aloft. The northwesterly surface winds were partially turned by friction (Adding-Friction-PBL). The streets of turbulent stratocumulus revealed the direction of the boundary layer winds. The westerly winds in the free atmosphere aloft as evidenced by the gravity waves, meant that the winds backed with height which is the signature of cold advection in the atmosphere (Shifting Winds). Nature makes sense if we only take the time to listen to what she has to say. 

The grey ice that we had been watching slowly deteriorate over the past week had turned white with fresh snowfall on it. 

The smooth and slippery surface was fun to paint on. 

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#2635 "Spring in the Maple Woods"

#2635 "Spring in the Maple Woods"
14x11 inches oil

The rain looked like it would stay just to the south of Singleton so I headed out into the Singleton Forest Sanctuary. 

It felt warm on my back when the sun occasionally broke through the cumulus clouds... otherwise it was pretty chilly with the westerly winds and the temperature of only plus 5 Celsius. The snow had all melted and the earth tones of wet leaves and soil dominated the forest floor. I had left my glasses in the Singleton Studio as I did not wish to see any details. It worked. The oils flowed for me and the Plein air experience was pure joy for me. 

I was tempted to work more on the sap buckets but aside from a few highlights, I left the plein air work as it was finished in the forest. Step away from the easel… start a new painting if you must, in order to extinguish the urge to paint more. 

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#2634 "Turbulent Stratocumulus Ahead of a Spring Cold Front"

#2634 "Turbulent Stratocumulus Ahead of a Spring Cold Front"
11x14 inches oil

My chores were done and I had some time to paint. The wind were brisk from the south in the warm sector of the storm but quite bearable in the lee of the Singleton Forest. 

The cold front was expected to arrive around 1 pm with some heavy showers but that still gave me a couple of hours. Streets of turbulent stratocumulus were billowing along with those gusty southwesterly winds and provided the inspiration. This is essentially a skyscape with the terrain of the outflow of Jim Day Rapids providing the foreground. There was still a bit of snow on the northern sides of the marble ridges. It was a great day to stay home (like everyday). 

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#2633 "Memories of Lingering Snow and Other Things"

#2633 "Memories of Lingering Snow and Other Things"
11x14 oils

I was attracted by the bits of snow that remained among the trees on the sheltered, northern flanks of the Singleton ridges. 

There was certainly not much snow left but apparently some reinforcements were on the way with the weather. I wanted to be outside between the periods of rain in order to experience the sounds of spring in the air. The entire cast of characters were on hand except for the biting bugs. 

The "other things" in the title are many and diverse and too numerous to write down. I was thinking about the beauty to be found even in the greys and browns under the melted snow. I pondered that there is a cycle of life to the seasons and art. I was thinking of my Father who passed on this March day back in 2001 before 911. I thought of how the world had changed since my youth in Brockville and the horror of 911 to the present day in the Ukraine. 

The meaning of life even flitted through my thoughts. Enjoying life comes down to appreciating the simple things, being useful and perhaps keeping the bullies and negativity out of your personal sanctuary. For me, life has become about surrounding the sanctuary with nature and art. I keep painting, creating something and then trying to make a better creation. If I can keep doing that until I die, then I figure that must be a pretty good life... I can't change the world as much as I would like too... 

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#2632 "March Virga Sunrise"

#2632 "March Virga Sunrise" 11x14 inches oil

Typically I get up with the sun. The morning of Wednesday March 23rd, 2022 was special. It was the classic situation when clear skies on the eastern horizon were about to be replaced by overcast cirrostratus and altostratus skies. But for a fleeting few minutes, the rising sun finds the pathway through the clear skies and illuminates the undersides of the thickening cloud. 

The deformation zone of the approaching storm had just passed to the east of Singleton. The anticyclonic branch of the warm conveyor belt was pointed over Lake Ontario. The cold conveyor belt was at the surface and there was a chilly easterly breeze in the air. The cloud was already producing some subtle virga. Freezing rain was in the forecast as well. 

The deformation process and the divergence of the flow could even be seen in the radar animation. It was most appropriate to also be World Meteorological Day March 23rd. There seems to be a day for everything. 

Radar - Wintry Weather Approaching

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#2631 "Snow Gone in the Maple Forest"

#2631 "Snow Gone in the Maple Forest"
14x11 oils

What a difference five days and a spring rain storm can make. The forest had been deep with snow just a few days ago but now it was all gone. That winter of precipitation had to go somewhere. The lake levels were high. Jim Day Rapids was surging with water. The soils were sodden. A winter storm with snow and ice was on the way for Wednesday but for at least a couple of days, I would paint in the forest. 

The sounds of spring filled the forest. It sounded like there were now two red shouldered hawks shrieking at me. The flocks of geese headed northbound were very vocal and they sounded ecstatic to be home. The wind increased greatly as the nocturnal inversion broke down under the strong March sun (the solar panels generated almost 80 kwh) as I painted and the sound through the trees added a low pitched whirr to the music of the sanctuary. 

Monday March 21st was also the International Day of Forests. It was a day to recognize and celebrate the importance of all types of forests in our communities. The forest was a vital part of the Singleton Sanctuary for me. I wore by Dad's plaid jacket that we had given him in 1999. He wore that jacket until he passed in 2001. My favourite memories of my Father were in a forest like this one. They are not just trees but a complex and interactive web of ecosystems that we are still learning about. 

I have painted these old fashioned tap buckets before and hopefully have been consistent with all of the dents and the peculiarities of each. The other paints are #2613 "Singleton Maple Twin Taps" and #2615 "Singleton Sap Running". I did not wear my glasses as I did not wish to see the details. 

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#2630 "Winter March Sunset on Ice"

#2630 "Winter March Sunset on Ice" 5x7 inches

I thought the title was a bit humourous because I know many people who dedicate their sunset to a happy hour when everything is on ice.

Singleton Lake was still completely frozen over. I used a lot of paint on this small panel. It was fun and creative as art must be! 

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