#2872 "Morning Stratus on the Upper Dumoine"

 I needed to find another painting location... Luckily, my canoe would take me wherever I wished to paddle. 

#2872 "Morning Stratus on the Upper Dumoine"
Oils on burnt sienna oil-tinted commercial canvas panel
5 X 7 (inches).
Started 9:30 am Wednesday, July 31st, 2024
from very near N46.459331 W77.767969. 

I followed the Dumoine current south of John's Cabin. I wanted to let the flow guide me further but the strong tug on the canoe advised otherwise. I was at CPAWS DRAW to paint! If I had followed the strong current over the ledge, it could have been a couple of hours of effort and paddling to get back. I spun the canoe around in mid-current and paddled hard to push it upstream and past the brink. The Coriolis Force must have deflected me to the right. Just kidding as there were really no other options. I found a great spot to paint the weather for the rest of the day (the yellow pin in the map below).

The fog and mist in the morning sky were transforming into scary looking stratus. There was nothing to fear but the clouds were calling for me to put them on a canvas. There was a lot of wind in the atmosphere that tormented and twisted the cloud shapes. The air mass remained moist and unstable as well. It was going to be an interesting day of weather. 

I set my easel in the shallows on a muddy point of land. It was warm so I decided to plant myself in the water as well for a very good reason. I would spend much of the day painting from that location. 

The biting flies that are typical of August canoe trips prefer the tender flesh found around the ankles. One way to alleviate that is to stand in the water. The flies do not nip on the flesh of the upper legs nearly as much. Perhaps the reason can be found in the more abundant hair to be found there but I do not really know. The water was a refreshing place to paint and it was much easier to get into the artistic zone without the bugs tormenting my submerged feet. 

The small panel was the perfect size to make a weather observation. The clouds were changing rapidly but I had a good supply of these canvases in my canoe pack. 

My friends Katherine and Eric came paddling along as I painted. I seldom get pictures of me in the artistic zone but they recorded what they witnessed when they rounded the bend. The wardrobe choices could have been better but this is my "summer" look even at Singleton. The long-sleeved whitish shirt and standing in the water were both motivated by the bugs. 

This is number nine of thirty-five paintings I completed en plein air at CPAWS DRAW 2024. It was a wonderful experience with a terrific group of people. https://cpaws-ov-vo.org/draw-retreat-artists/ A portion of sales from this endeavour will go to support CPAW and keep the 'wild' in the wilderness. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection. Here is the link to the CPAWS DRAW Collection. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick