The 2017 Southampton Art School Annual Adventure was carrying on the legacy of my friend and artist Jane Champagne. This was the thirteenth demonstration painting and the second of Day 4 of the Plein Air Paint Out.
When the group arrived they set up at the cyclonic branch of the deformation zone beach so I moved northward along the shore to be with them. This was going to be a windy location with the westerly fetch of blustery winds off George Lake - but it was more important to be with the group than to seek sheltered comfort. At breakfast I had pointed out that the isobaric gradient was really quite weak so I was hopeful that the winds would not be an issue. The slight anticyclonic curvature of those flat ridge isobars and the cold air advection overpowered the gradient wind and it was indeed windy and more than a bit chilly. The gravity waves in the patch of higher altocumulus cloud revealed that the wind was backing with height as it should with cold air advection.
The weather was dominated by streets of turbulent stratocumulus aided by time and the instability created when cold air flows over the warm Great Lakes. Bands of cirrus were also spreading over what had to be a very flat upper ridge. The temperatures were comfortable in the mid teens when the sun was out between the cloud streets. It was definitively chilly when the clouds obscured the sun. I included the characteristic yellow rock in several compositions. The colours of the trees were emerging by the hour.
I think the small and smooth panels really capture the essence of the place. The impression can be more truthful in those bold, unmixed and unpolished strokes of pigment. This skyscape makes the clouds the star of the small screen. The western shore of George Lake on the horizon was just a small player in the composition. Plein air is always fun. I scratched my signature in the wet oils with my trusty nail.
Traffic was increasing as visitors arrived for the Thanksgiving Day weekend and the autumn colours.
When the group arrived they set up at the cyclonic branch of the deformation zone beach so I moved northward along the shore to be with them. This was going to be a windy location with the westerly fetch of blustery winds off George Lake - but it was more important to be with the group than to seek sheltered comfort. At breakfast I had pointed out that the isobaric gradient was really quite weak so I was hopeful that the winds would not be an issue. The slight anticyclonic curvature of those flat ridge isobars and the cold air advection overpowered the gradient wind and it was indeed windy and more than a bit chilly. The gravity waves in the patch of higher altocumulus cloud revealed that the wind was backing with height as it should with cold air advection.
The weather was dominated by streets of turbulent stratocumulus aided by time and the instability created when cold air flows over the warm Great Lakes. Bands of cirrus were also spreading over what had to be a very flat upper ridge. The temperatures were comfortable in the mid teens when the sun was out between the cloud streets. It was definitively chilly when the clouds obscured the sun. I included the characteristic yellow rock in several compositions. The colours of the trees were emerging by the hour.
Traffic was increasing as visitors arrived for the Thanksgiving Day weekend and the autumn colours.
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