#2297 "Lyndhurst United"

I participated again in the Lyndhurst Art Trail - 2019 Culture Days Tour. I have participated in Culture Day events from almost the very start. I forget which year exactly but I always agree to help however I might be able to. Culture Days was initiated by the Canadian Arts Summit in 2010.

The United Church was founded in 1925 as a merger of four Protestant denominations with a total combined membership of about 600,000 members. But times are changing. Small towns and rural areas are shrinking as people migrate to the cities. "Country living is the life for me" to quote "Green Acres" and Eddie Albert. This particular United Church went up for sale in November 2019.

I thought that my subtle and simple title implied more about the common goals of the revitalized community of Lyndhurst than religion.

The cirrus from the next storm was already flooding in from the west but it would not rain on our parade. Sunday was a beautiful day in the country. I do not often paint looking into the light but this scene caught my eye. I had just a bit more time left in Culture Days 2019 so I decided I had better not waste it.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you.

#2296 "Lyndhurst Love Blacksmith Shop"

I participated again in the Lyndhurst Art Trail - 2019 Culture Days Tour. I have participated in Culture Day events from almost the very start. I forget which year exactly but I always agree to help however I might be able to. Culture Days was initiated by the Canadian Arts Summit in 2010.

Culture Days is a national celebration of arts and culture. At the end of each September, millions of people attend thousands of participatory arts and culture events across the country. Culture Days programs invite the public to get hands-on and behind-the-scenes to highlight the importance of arts and culture in our communities. The Culture Days organization supports a Canada-wide network of arts, culture, and heritage organizers to facilitate free public events in their communities every year during the Culture Days weekend. A registered charity as of 2017, Culture Days serves as a year-round catalyst that connects individuals and creators to build measurable support for the entire sector and amplify its contributions. We seek to eliminate barriers to access and participation, and stimulate understanding, appreciation and exploration of arts and culture—so that every person in the country has a deeper connection with themselves, their communities, and Canada.

This historic barn was the Blacksmith Shop of A.J.Love built in 1887. I thought it perfectly represented the culture and craft of that era. The sound of the sixteen foot drop of Furnace Falls provided the soundscape along with the calls of the migrating birds. Pioneers knew of the nearby (2 miles away) iron deposit in 1784. The first iron was produced in 1801 by Wallis Sunderlin of Tinmouth, Vermont in the village then known as Furnace Falls. By the time of the Love Blacksmith Shop, Furnace Falls had been renamed as Lyndhurst (1846). By 1870 there were sawmills and grist mills on both sides of the river. The Love Blacksmith Shop would have been in the very heart of this hive of activity.

The last remnants of the furnace stack were demolished in 1881 to build a new grist mill on the east bank. The last of all of the mills were sadly demolished in 1967. The Love Blacksmith Shop and adjacent prestigious red brick home over look the outlet of Lower Beverley Lake. The historic structure was open to the public for the first time. A "barn quilt" even graces the front of the Love Blacksmith Shop - a project inspired by and lead by Susan Magalas.

The weather was perfect between two very wet storms of autumn. The cirrus from the next storm was already flooding in from the west. Sunday was a beautiful day in the country and it was bustling with culture and friendship. It rained hard both before and after the Culture Day.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you.

#2295 "Sunrise Heat Leaving My Pool"

It was raining hard outside but I had some time to paint. I remembered a sunrise from the previous week that illuminated the fog and mist rising off the still quite warm waters of Singleton Lake. That condensed moisture represents heat leaving the lake. In this case, lots of heat left. Cool overnight temperatures during the increasingly long periods of darkness means that at some point the air draining off the surrounding hills pools over the lake. The air eventually gets colder than the surface of the lake. Moisture leaves the lake in the form of water vapour using the lake as the source of the energy to supply the heat of vapourization. These vapours in turn cool and condense releasing that energy to the air. Saturated swirls of vapour rise buoyantly with the release of this heat back into the parcels of air. The process is the same as that for Arctic sea smoke. My swimming days for 2019 were numbered.

The rising sun illuminated these fingers of fog as well as a couple of jet contrails. My optimistic hope was that a sunny day would return some of that energy back into the waters of the lake so that I could continue swimming a few more days. I typically start swimming in Singleton Lake on May 15th and last until October 1st. I make the most out of our natural swimming pool.

The rain ended just as I was finishing the painting. Then I went swimming... The last swim in 2019 was on October 5th.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you.

#2294 "Georgian Bay Gravity Waves"

The warm conveyor belt moisture had gradually thickened up during the day. The September sun still packed an incredible amount of heat. I had to step into the shade of the foliage in order to observe my subject matter and then back toward the panel to paint what I saw. Sunset was still almost two hours away and it was still very warm and bright even with the thickening warm conveyor belt cloud.

The easterly cold conveyor belt had intensified. There was a seiche effect on the beach that lowered the water level by maybe as much as a foot. I was painting the eastern flank of the warm conveyor belt which turns clockwise as it rises on its northward journey.

The clouds reveal the wavelength nature of the atmosphere. Weather is a fluid and everything occurs in waves and waves are formed by gravity. Everything is connected in nature and sometimes the feed-back mechanisms are stronger than the force that created them.

I barbequed my supper while I finished this painting of the approaching September storm. This was my last plein air painting of this Georgian Bay trip.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you.

#2293 "Georgian Bay Cloud Stories"

The weather is written in the clouds if you know the vocabulary. The shapes of clouds in the free atmosphere well above any interactions with the earth are all the result of changes in the relative wind speed and direction - within the atmospheric frame of reference. Clouds may move along with the average wind but the shapes are all carved by slight variations in this average. Swirls and twirls are the result of the weather dance and the lines are all deformation zones. Weather is more of a ballet than a battle.

Circulations in the atmosphere are very three dimensional. The deformation zone that I often refer to as a line as illustrated by the double headed green arrow is really just a cross-section through the three dimensional deformation skin. Moisture tends to be on one side or the other of this atmospheric barrier. The shape of this deformation zone reveals the relative intensity of the vorticity swirls on either side of it.

The three dimensional circulations are exactly like smoke rings driven by a relative puff of wind. Since clouds are quasi horizontal in nature, they only reveal the opposing cross-sections of these smoke rings. The rest of the smoke ring is only revealed in your imagination. If you follow the smoke ring with your ring hand the curl of your fingers are in the same direction as the swirls of the smoke ring. If your thumb is point upward meteorologists refer to that area as positive vorticity and a red "X".  If your thumb is point down that is negative vorticity depicted as a blue "N". The truth is that the circulation is a single three dimensional circulation.

Some people better visualize the three dimensional deformation zone skin as a jellyfish. Both the jelly and the ocean are fluids just like the atmosphere. I tend to think that the jellyfish propels itself through the ocean by first creating the ring of vorticity on its outer edges. The watery version of the smoke ring in turn creates the puff of relative current in the middle that moves the jellyfish forward. In the smoke ring analogy the puff from the smoker comes first which then generates the ring of vorticity. In the jellyfish the vorticity ring is created first. The reality is that the relative wind or current maximum must also have the ring of vorticity associated with it. You cannot have one without the other.

Any cross-section through the three dimensional deformation zone skin results in a deformation zone line which one can easily draw on a flat piece of paper. The shape of this deformation zone line reveals everything about the associated swirls which are in turn just cross-sections through the three dimensional vorticity ring. Deformation zones come in three flavours as I have sketched. This is the kind of stuff I have been describing during my meteorological career. Art is really just science and vice versa.

In this particular sky the deformation zone patterns of the large rotational patterns are still evident in the warm conveyor belt. On closer inspection there are many interesting smaller swirls within the larger display as well. Rain was on the way with this warm conveyor belt. Weather is always fun to paint and it is a challenge as well.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you.

#2292 "Canine Cove Sumacs"

The hummingbird kept me company as I studied the patterns in the sumac leaves. The tiny bird would buzz in like a little jet and take a few sips of nectar from the marigolds before heading off on another mission. There is always something interesting to observe while en plein air.

The staghorn sumac is actually native to the southern half of Ontario and eastwards to the Maritimes. The smooth sumac variety grows in western Canada. The sumac turns a brilliant hue of orange and yellow that become deep red later in the autumn. The beauty of the native sumacs continues into the winter with clusters of fuzzy bright red berries. I enjoy painting sumacs and turn to them whenever I need to be inspired.

The sumac berries have a zingy lemon taste when picked at their peak in early fall. Soak berries of all Canadian sumacs in hot or cold water and then strain to make a refreshing drink or a gargle for sore throats. If the drink is too sharp you can add a bit of honey or maple syrup. Other sumac parts have been used in a variety of ways: fresh sumac stems have been used in basket weaving, the tannin-packed leaves and bark have been used for tanning leather and the roots have been made into teas that help stop bleeding.

The staghorn sumac likes lots of sun and tolerates almost any soil condition. Birds such as evening grosbeaks, northern cardinals and ruffed grouse will eat sumac berries throughout the winter and into the spring although it may be their last resort for a meal. Rabbits, moose and deer will also browse on the leaves and twigs. Some butterflies use this plant as food for their young, and sumacs provide nectar for bees and other beneficial insects while providing great shelter for many more wild creatures.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you.

#2291 "Georgian Bay Deformation Zone"

The curious humming bird returned to hover a foot in front of my face again. We were already friends. It visited the marigold flowers for breakfast. They move too fast for any pictures when I am busy painting.

Another September system was on the way. The ridge of high pressure was not very large. I did not want to squander a moment of time as more rain was on the way but probably not for another twelve hours or so. In addition, art is work and I am certainly no slacker.

The high and thin cirrostratus marked the deformation zone of the next system. The cirrus was not even white and I used ultramarine blue to tell that part of the weather story. Book end vorticties of cloud were pushing westward overhead. These curls of cloud were frontlit and bright. The easterly wind driving these clouds could have been partly overnight land breezes or they could have been part of the cold conveyor belt. What I found surprising was that the clouds over Georgian Bay had a southerly component and were moving along at a fair clip. Only the heads of the stratocumulus clouds were frontlit enough to be bright white. The winds driving these clouds could have been southeasterly. The trails of these stratocumulus fragments were dark grey. I painted what I saw and even though I might not fully understand the science, I did appreciate the beauty and the colours. The cloud patterns more or less conformed to the conveyor belt conceptual model which I try to apply in all weather situations.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you.

#2290 "Canine Cove Rock Man"

The warm sector of the September storm was still entrenched over Parry Island that afternoon. Temperatures were in the low twenties and the swimming was great. The thick morning fog bank had lifted with the weak cold front of the September weather pattern. Sunny skies dominated with the following ridge of high pressure. Looking closely over the Georgian Bay horizon, one could see the deformation zone of the next September storm.

I set my easel up on the end of the dock of of Canine Cove Cabin. The pattern of trees caught my eye. Some soft maples were already starting to turn red.

I had to include The Rock Man for a couple of reasons. The first was because the figure was so unusual and needed to be documented. The large granite blocks made him a rocky pillar of the Canine Cove society. The second reason was because my friend loved his music as much as I do. Folk and rock beginning from the 1950's onward was all fair game. My friend liked the same artists that I do especially Harry Chapin. He loved to listen to his music from vinyl long, playing LP's. The sound actually has a warmth and a tone to it that might be missing in compact discs. Even long playing only have 20 to 30 minutes of music per side but that half hour was filled with great and loud music.

My friend would sing three Harry Chapin songs in their entirety in order to time how long he would swim. He knew every word to the lyrics. The songs were "Cats in the Cradel", "Taxi" and "All My Life's a Circle". Harry Forster Chapin (December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) died way too young in 1981 at the age of 39. Harry's life was a circle too.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you.

#2289 "Georgian Bay Warm Sector Clouds"

The warm sector of the September storm was well entrenched over Parry Island. Temperatures were in the low twenties and the swimming was great. The water was just a bit chilly.

The warm conveyor belt is typically still active in the warm sector of the storm. Higher potential temperature air originating from further to the south continues to rise as it heads northward through the meteorological dance that comprises the September storm. Gravity waves in this high altocumulus clouds attracted me as my friend Cam worked on supper. I did not want to waste a moment of this Georgian Bay experience. A humming bird was curious about my painting and hovered a foot in front of my face. It really wanted to visit the marigold flowers although I pretended that it was viewing my painting. There were some distant thunderstorms well to the west.

There is actually a channel just past the boats tied to docks on the right side of the painting. I was surprised that this channel was almost a worm-hole in time and space that led directly to Killbear where I had painted a few years before. The trip to Killbear by road from Parry Sound is a drive of an hour or more. The trip to Killbear via boat from Canine Cove might be five minutes.

I used a lot of paint on this small, smooth and slippery surface. It was fun even though art can be work - just as it said on my T-shirt.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you.

#2288 "Parry Island Canine Cove Cabin"

The showers were over so I moved back out to the dock of Canine Cove Cabin on Parry Island.
The gusty southwesterly winds of the warm sector were still blowing with considerable vigour. Those winds actually blew a small cardboard box containing some paper towels and brushes off the dock. I went swimming to retrieve them. I only leave footprints behind when I paint en plein air. The waters of Georgian Bay were cooler than those of Singleton Lake. Even so I went swimming a few times.

I decided to do an architectural painting of Canine Cove Cabin to leave for my friend Cam in appreciation for the visit to Parry Sound. The midday sky was still grey from the clouds of the warm sector. A yearling black bear cub was curious about my choice of pigments. The bear came out on the dock and examined the unusual sight of a plein air painter for a few moments. I scrambled to get a picture of the bear peering at me from the foot of the dock. I was too slow. I did manage to get a picture of the bear as he inspected the neighbour's property.

The bear was just curious and did not object to my choice of painting.

I included the Rock Man sitting on the granite ledge in front of Canine Cove Cabin. The aluminum boat was overturned and was used by a mink for a convenient shelter. I also included the two Muskoka chairs. Bricks were sitting on those chairs to keep them in place. My shirt says that art is work and I believe that to be very true indeed.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you.

#2287 "Georgian Bay Warm Sector Winds"

The first line of warm frontal thunderstorms had moved to the east. There was a small break in the wall of weather.

I decided that I could try another sketch from the porch of Canine Cove Cabin before the next line of showers moved through. The winds had veered to southerly and the low level stratocumulus were whipping across Parry Island and Georgian Bay. Darker and higher bands of altostratus with the warm conveyor belt were aligned perpendicular to the southwesterly winds. Every line in the atmosphere is actually a deformation zone. All of the sky was grey with moisture.

I included some details of the cottages on the far shore. I had to retreat occasionally into the cottage as showers continued on and off for a few hours. I allowed some of the crimson red of the tinted panel to sparkle through. As has been my custom for a few years now, I scratched my signature in the thick and vert wet oils with a toothpick. Done...

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you.

#2286 "Georgian Bay Shelf Cloud"

A friend invited me to his cottage so that he could reveal the real Parry Sound and the 30,000 Islands of the Georgian Bay Archipelago. Archipelago is a fancy geographical term for a chain or group of islands scattered across a body of water. Canine Cove on Parry Island was home base for a few days and I painted and explored with my friend.

Heavy rain was on the way. There was not much time to paint but I had come to Parry Sound to paint up a storm. That is what I planned to do. I watched the shelf cloud getting closer during a fine breakfast of farm fresh egg omelette with all the fillings. I thought there was enough time to stand on the dock and capture the feel of the storm before it arrived. I was done by 9:20 am just when the convective downpours arrived. There was some distant thunder as I retreated to the Canine Cove Cottage. I did not get wet. Sometimes it pays to be a meteorologist.

The body of water that gives the town its name was surveyed and named by Captain Henry Bayfield in the 19th century. Captain Bayfield named the area in honour of the Arctic explorer Sir William Edward Parry. The modern townsite was established In 1857 near the Ojibwa village of Wasauksing which means "shining shore" which was located at the mouth of the Seguin River.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you.