#2454 "Singleton Sugar Maple"

I guided the wildlife trail through the forest of the Singleton Sanctuary to pass by this magnificent sugar maple tree. This maple has a circumference of 135 inches (11.25 feet) at 36 inches above the ground. Simple math gives the diameter of this tree of about 43 inches. The Comfort Sugar Maple tree has a 20 foot circumference at the base which is larger than the 11.25 feet circumference of the Singleton Maple which I measured a bit higher. The Comfort Sugar Maple near North Pelham, Niagara Region, was a sprout when Columbus navigated to the New World in 1492. The Singleton Sugar Maple was likely at least a good sized tree for the War of 1812. Size is not always related to age though. There are cedars on the Niagara Escarpment that are 2000 year old (at least 1890 years old in 2014) and they have circumferences that measure in just a few inches or less. Life like art, is not a competition and I am just happy that both old trees are still alive. 

A large limb had fallen down and was laying on the ground. That limb might have been a victim of the January 1998 ice storm. Smaller limbs had also fallen and were lying around the large tree. All of this wood will eventually become nutrients for the soil. Smaller maple saplings were everywhere but they were struggling to get enough sunlight through the overcast forest canopy. 

Something large fell to the ground as I painted. There goes the saying wondering if a tree falling in the forest makes any sound. The answer is a certain and resounding "yes". "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" is a philosophical thought experiment that raises questions regarding observation and perception. 

The ravens were having quite an animated an long conversation which I eavesdropped on. The chickadees and blue jays were also busy. The forest was not a quite place. 

I used my tractor to lift and transport my portable "Art Studio on a Pallet". I would revisit this huge sugar maple in #2471 "Pioneer Sugar Maple". 

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#2453 "January Sugar Maple Siblings"

These are two old and very special sugar maple trees. I had large limbs wired together to eliminate the risk of the trunks splitting. The sugar maple is one of the most common trees in the southern Ontario deciduous forest. The other common trees are the white oak, white birch, green ash and black walnut.. Sugar maple survive best in fertile, slightly acidic, moist soils in full sun. That description apples well to the location of these trees plus they are not stressed by salt or any other chemicals. We do not use any chemicals within the Singleton Sanctuary. Sugar maples typically survive 300 years with the oldest in Canada being the Comfort maple, at 500 years. 

These trees should last another couple of hundred years. The tree on the left measures 105 inches (almost 9 feet) in circumference at 3 feet above the ground. This circumference relates to a diameter of almost 3 feet. The tree on the right is a bit smaller and measures 97 inches (about 8 feet) in circumference at 3 feet above the ground. This circumference relates to a diameter of 2.6 feet. 

The sky was overcast with altostratus. There were a few snow flakes falling. The flakes were perfect stellar dendrites. I could easily see the branching six-sided shapes as they landed and stuck on the fresh oils before they melted away. The wind picked up and my bare hands proceeded to get very cold. There is nothing like wind chill to hurry me along as I paint en plein air. 

The Comfort Sugar Maple tree is 24.5 metres (80 ft) tall with a crown that is 38 metres (125 ft) in circumference. The trunk of the Comfort maple measured at 6 metres (20 ft) in circumference at the base. Due to the rigors of age as well as at least one major lightning strike, the tree has been repaired over the years with bricks, concrete, and guy wires. 

The conservation area is located at the end of a narrow lane off Metler Road. (Niagara Regional Rd. 28) near North Pelham. The Comfort Maple is surrounded by farm land. The Comfort Conservation Area is just 0.25 acres and has a small parking area. The Comfort Maple was designated a heritage tree in June 2000 under the Ontario Heritage Act (OHA). 

I painted these trees a few times including #1721 "Twin Maples". 

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#2452 "Sunset with Langmuir"

In the early days of my meteorological career I would have spotted this deck of cirrus and happily identified baroclinic zone cirrus (BZCI). Satellite imagery was just becoming available via hard copies on photographic paper - the fabled K560. Animation was achieved by cartoon flipping these hard copies. VHS filming of the hard copies was the next step to make animations of the low resolution imagery. Computer handling of the data was still a dream in the 1980's. This new data in the late 1970's was enough to make me a convert to remote sensing though. Weather was three dimensional and did not arrive as the intersections of circles on Venn Diagrams. 

Every line of cloud has a story to tell and I spent my career listening to what the skies had to say. Much of this research was published through COMET in Boulder, Colorado. Some other topics like langmuir streaks in the atmospheric fluid never made it to press even though I discussed the concepts many times. There is so much still to learn. 

This sunset sky was from 6:50 pm Thursday September 6th, 2018. I had to paint it for both the colours but also the meteorology. I had painted it before in #2203 "Langmuir Streak Sunset" but stumbled across the supporting imagery again and could not resist. I believe that the banding of the baroclinic zone cirrus results from the same process as Langmuir streaks in water. The tropopause provides the stable layer equivalent to the surface of the water. Distinct bands parallel to the strong winds in the fluid contained by the stable layer reveal the associated vertical motions therein. I like to think of elongated helical tubes stretched out along the direction of the strong winds which comprise the jet stream. The three-dimensional circulation in these helical tubes interact and the bands of cloud result. 

The atmosphere is another fluid and the physics of motion are universal. We just happen to live at the bottom of this ocean of air. 

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#2451 "Snow Morning at Jim Day Rapids"

I wanted to loosen up my brushwork. Plein air is the best way to do that for me and I wanted to experience the muted light of nature first hand. I was also using a smooth panel and that helps to fauve up the brush work as well. I did not look at the weather details. 

The overcast skies could do almost anything in the winter. The winds were calm and it was wonderful to paint outside surrounded by the sounds of nature. Ravens could be heard. Squirrels chattered at me as well. The ice made a lot of noise probably as a result of the water being drained from the Gananoque River system. There was a noticeable drop and quite a current at Jim Day Rapids and I could hear the rush of the water. 

After a while, snow started to fall. A southwesterly wind developed. The snow fell harder and reduced the visibility across the lake. My bare hands started to notice the windchill. I painted faster. It snowed harder still. Meltwater coated the smooth panel. I painted even faster. I could still feel my fingers when I finished. They felt cold. If I had checked the weather, I would probably not have started to paint and that could have been a mistake. Snowsqualls off Lake Ontario are very predictable but I am retired now. 

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#2450 "Hi Cirrus"

The beautiful sunset was from the previous evening (Saturday January 9th, 2021) at 6:00 pm. The Langmuir streaks of cirrus told the story of increasing high level moisture even though we were in the middle of a large ridge of high pressure. The next day would dawn as a milky overcast under the advancing upper warm frontal surface. The blanket of cirrus would keep the temperatures mild overnight. 

I wanted to play a bit of a pun in the title. I was saying "hello" to the cirrus in the sunset painting. The high cloud was probably at 20,000 feet above the ground. 

The hot pinks of the sunset also told another story. The atmosphere is on fire. Our globe is burning. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels levels have been rising steadily as a direct result of human pollution since the industrial revolution. The facts and science are clear. The graphics summarize the history and point to the future. 

In encouraging a green, circular economy as a COVID recovery, I coined the phrase "fossil fools" to describe the bane of the industrial revolution boom. I meant the term to describe groups who employ dishonest methods to perpetuate personal profit from the carbon-based economy while denying the fact and science of climate change. I try to use humour even if it just a pun, to make a point. Progress is seldom achieved by bashing.

In observing and painting this skyscape, it is important to see the sunny side of the weather knowing full well that climate is the long term summation or integral of the conditions we experience every day. COVID has presented the Globe with a final opportunity to start fresh. Leaders can build a green future that benefits all instead of perpetuating the present and subsidizing the carbon-based past. That is what I meant by "fossil fools" and I carefully considered the science while I painted. 

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#2449 "Singleton Icy Sunset"

I thought it would be interesting to complete a pair of paintings from the same time with one overlooking the forest and the other depicting the view across the lake. The reflections across the lake are controlled by the open water, the ice and the snow. Every such painting of Singleton is a study in optics. The open water is very reflective at glancing angles of incidence so it reflects the sunset sky. The rough ice and snow are far less reflective and some of those surfaces are already in the shadow of the western shore. 

The previous painting #2448 "Long Reach Forest Sunset" was the forest view of the same sunset. 

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#2448 "Long Reach Forest Sunset"

I thought it would be interesting to complete a pair of paintings from the same time with one overlooking the forest and the other depicting the view across the lake. This is the forest view under overcast skies but with a shimmer of the red sunset glow illuminating the forest. The drainage swale in the foreground floods after a heavy precipitation event. Extended periods of drought separated by such extreme precipitation events was one of the predictions of climate change science and has come to pass even without our lifetime. The white pines poke well above the canopy of the deciduous forest. The next painting #2449 "Singleton Icy Sunset" will be the lake view of the sunset. 

The high pressure was to the west of the Great Lakes. The circulation would provide a chilly flow from the Arctic for the next several days. 

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#2447 "August 22nd Sunrise"

August 22 was my Mother's birthday. My parents encouraged my art and the least that I can do, is my best. A sunrise always instill a promise for the coming day. 

I paint to please myself but am honoured when it touches someone else. The best art can grab you – affects for feelings – influence your mood. Hopefully in a positive way. There must be an unspoken connection between the artist and the audience. That is what I strive for and it is fleeting and difficult to achieve. If you have accomplished that even once as an artist, you are on your way. You can do it again. Keep trying. 

The art can be almost anything: visual, music, dance, writing. There are countless creative disciplines that provides the artist with an outlet for expression and maybe even an audience. What excites me is that sometimes those outlets fuse and the sum is greater than the parts. A friend I never met is a favourite example of this. 

Marko Burrows is a one man music machine creating a library of music in much the same way that I create the Singleton Sanctuary Studio full of art. We are driven to create. Several years ago my art connected with Marko over the internet. He reached out and asked permission to write a song about me as an artist and my art. We never met but Marko knows me very, very well as displayed by the lyrics of his song. 

I love this song as it brings back memories of Marko and it reveals many truths about me. and maybe you will too. I have tried to find him but have been unsuccessful. I hope he is still writing songs and enjoying life to its fullest. 

For me, success is not about selling. It is about connecting with others and enriching both your life and those of your audience. It is a symbiotic relationship and it is all good. It defines society. 

Here is the poem behind the music... both by Marko Burrows.

• It’s hot in here 
• The weather’s weird for this time of year
• It’s hot in here I’ve been watching steam rising from my beer!
• A working man
• My rich boss says, “Strip the land”
• There ‘ain’t no plan
• Just more and more wealth in his hands
• I look to the sky, and I’m in awe.
• However we change it, it’s so beautiful
• It’s hot in here
• It’s hot in here
• Its’ raining more, the sky’s not ever clear
• It’s hot in here
• My car needs oars, it’s the floods fear
• I look to the sky, and I’m in awe...
• However we change it, it’s so beautiful
• And the world cries!
• It doesn’t matter what you’ve done
• Like the weather you cross my face
• I’ll still be here when you have gone
• A very different place
• It’s hot in here
• They say the tipping point is awful near
• It’s hot in here
• From this viewpoint it’s our last frontier
• A working man, How we stop it I don’t understand
• There ‘ain’t no plan.
• There’s no-one out there to lend a helping hand
• I look to the sky, and I’m in awe.
• However we change it, it’s so beautiful
• It’s hot in here

by Marko Burrows and inspired by the art of Phil Chadwick

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#2446 "Singleton Sunrise on Fire"

Winter often provides the cleanest and coldest atmosphere. The rising sun can set those skies on fire. This particular clear and quiet sunrise within the Singleton Sanctuary was from 5:40 AM October 2nd, 2012. I have seen and painted countless other skies like this one. 

Phil Vasaar's "Just Another Day in Paradise" was on my playlist when I started this memorable sunrise at 10 am Friday January 8th, 2021. There was a very chilly cold conveyor belt and light snow outside so I was in the Singleton Studio enjoying the loud music and the warmth of the wood stove. 

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#2445 "Sunny Flowers for a Cloudy Day"

This is a flippant return to #2435 "Overcast Sunflowers" that I painted on January 6th, 2021.Sunflowers were the perfect inspiration during the shortest days and longest nights of the year as well as the darkest days of the COVID-19 Pandemic. I did not know it at the time but it would be a sadly, an even darker day in the United States. History will have much more to say about January 6th but I did not learn of the attack on the White House until the evening. I was too busy trying to be constructively creative during the COVID quarantine.

I flipped this image horizontally from the first go at them when I painted #2435 "Overcast Sunflowers". I wanted one more and final try with the aging oil paints that were left on my palette before I scraped it clean. It might be the new year of 2021 but I was still having fun with the remarkable sunflowers of 2020. This was a very smooth panel and that also affects how one records the inspiration. 

The COVID-19 Pandemic was just about to hit the fan as people ignored the instructions and isolation guidance that is required to stop the spread of the virus. The virus was also mutating into variants that likely would not be effectively combated by the coming vaccines. Daily new infection numbers were close to 8 thousand in Canada and climbing. New Zealand and Australia combatted the virus wisely. 

My Father gave me wise advice as a child to "not worry about what other people were doing. Just worry about yourself". It bothered me as a youngster and still does as a supposedly mature adult, that people flagrantly flaunt the laws in an entitled, self-indulgent way, oblivious to their impacts on others and nature. I guess that I share Van Gogh's and Mark Twain's dislike of privilege and greedy entitlement. I would have liked to have known Vincent and Samuel Clements. 

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