#2558 "Singleton Cliffs"

#2558 "Singleton Cliffs" 11x14

I was on a reconnaissance paddle around Singleton Lake checking out the loons. This image was from the kayak around 10 am Sunday Wednesday September 29th, 2021. I did not see the loons but found two adult mute swans. The lake was quiet. The weather had turned colder but the water was still warm enough for swimming. 

These steep, marble cliffs have the widely varying water levels etched on them. The lines are an indelible record of the comings and going of precipitation and the seasons. This huge slope of marble on the southern shore of Singleton Lake has recorded the extremes in water levels since the time of the retreating glaciers ten thousand years ago. The etchings are not time stamped unfortunately so we do not really know exactly when these extremes occurred and reoccurred. The water levels are typically low in the autumn and I am not sure why. The hydro dam at Marble Rock is the only obstacle in the flow. The last serious flooding that I recall was the spring of 2014.

I love this type of early morning sky with rows of stratocumulus shielding me from the ultra violet of the sun - or at least most of it. 

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

#2557 "Snug Shoreline"

#2557 "Snug Shoreline" 11x14

This bit of rocky and piney shore is on the northern tip of Snug Island looking southeastward early in the afternoon of a cloud free September day in 2021. The Canoe Channel that comprises the eastern shore of Snug Island was just beyond that point of land. I painted that canoe path in #2556 "Snug Island Canoe Channel". The afternoon shadows on the trees played along the steep, rocky ridge. 

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

#2556 "Snug Island Canoe Channel"

#2556 "Snug Island Canoe Channel" 11x14

I have been at all of these places. 

This is looking southeast into the narrow channel that separates Snug Island from the mainland. That is Chapman Island in the distance with Snug Harbour just a bit further to the southeast. This channel is a familiar path to the residents of Snug Harbour. It was a gorgeous autumn day. The geology of the Georgian Bay Archipelago is always interesting. I used a smooth and slippery surface so that I would not get caught up in any unnecessary details. 

This is another Ro-Lak-Tree (a name I made up) Painting. I am repeating the Group of Seven Canadian Identity adventure of painting Canadian rocks, lakes and trees during COVID 2021. 

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

#2555 "Parry Island Tower"

#2555 "Parry Island Tower" 11"x14"

This iconic light is on the northern tip of Parry Island - due west of the city of Parry Sound. I painted on a slippery, smooth panel and resisted the urge to push the oils around too much. 

The light was photographed by my friend Cam at 4:00 pm on Sunday September 19th, 2021 looking eastward from very near N45.347004 W80.096448 . Before COVID I had accompanied Cam on a similar SeaDoo Tour that he calls "Cam's Capture the Flags Seadoo Cruise".Cam was referring to the flagged pine trees that I love to paint. I had been in front of that rock on Franklin Island in September 2019. 

This light is a familiar beacon to all that enjoy the Georgian Bay archipelago. It was a gorgeous autumn day. This is another Ro-Lak-Tree (a name I made up) Painting. I am repeating the Group of Seven Canadian Identity adventure of painting Canadian rocks, lakes and trees during COVID 2021. 

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

#2554 "Franklin Rocky Pines"

#2554 "Franklin Rocky Pines" 16"x20"

This interesting piece of granite is on the eastern shore of Franklin Island not too from the location of painting #2398 "Searching for Franklin". 

The rock was photographed by my friend Cam at 1:30 pm on Sunday September 19th, 2021 looking northwest from very near N45.392372 W80.318405. Before COVID I had accompanied Cam on a similar SeaDoo Tour that he calls "Cam's Capture the Flags Seadoo Cruise". Cam was referring to the flagged pine trees that I love to paint. I had been in front of that rock on Franklin Island in September 2019. 

The rocky mounds tell of the fiery history of the Parry Sound Archipelago. I really enjoy the way that the weather shapes the landscape of the area and I try to surround myself with the nature of the Parry Sound Archipelago in these oily records. Broad strokes and bold colours were what I used to interpret this beautiful portion of Canada. It was a gorgeous autumn day. 

This is another Ro-Lak-Tree (a name I made up) Painting. I am repeating the Group of Seven Canadian Identity adventure of painting Canadian rocks, lakes and trees during COVID 2021. 

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

#2553 "Turbulent Wolfe Winds"

#2553 "Turbulent Wolfe Winds" 10x12

This was the the third and last morning of the International Plein Air Painters Worldwide Paint Out 2021. The global paint out was in conjunction with the Kingston School of Art (KSOA) and Paint the Town. I thought that I would start painting a series of weather observations. The turbulent sky and waves of the inland seas of Lake Ontario were going to be the most exciting part of the morning. 

I continued painting weather observations - this one was started at 11:00 am on a 10x12 canvas would be the last of the morning. The bands of embedded convection were exiting to the northeast. A relative clearing was on the way with gusty southwesterly winds. The smaller strands of dark, low level cloud were rolled into curls with the wind shear. The bright cirrostratus was well illuminated by the late morning sun and provide a brillant backdrop for the shreds of convective cloud that lingered. 

The wind buffeted my large pallette and sometimes it was a challenge to keep it still enough in order to select and mix the correct colours that were in front of me. The morning five hour marathon of weather observations produced at least eight wonderful memories. Some memories went unrecorded. Any errors in the painting of the weather observation are solely mine. The clouds are always correct even if they change faster than the speed of light...

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

#2552 "Cumulus Congestus in the Rain"

#2552 "Cumulus Congestus in the Rain" 10"12"

This was the the third and last morning of the International Plein Air Painters Worldwide Paint Out 2021. The global paint out was in conjunction with the Kingston School of Art (KSOA) and Paint the Town. I thought that I would start painting a series of weather observations. The turbulent sky and waves of the inland seas of Lake Ontario were going to be the most exciting part of the morning. 

I continued painting weather observations - this one was started at 10:30 am on a 10 x12 canvas. The convective clouds were continuing to develop and this cumulus congestus was certainly producing a heavy rain shower over Wolfe Island. A companion convective cloud produced a heavy rain shower of Portsmouth Harbour. The rain was dripping down the canvas. I retreated under the shelter of the hatch of the Subaru Forester during the heaviest portion of the shower. I had coated the canvas with some linseed oil in anticipation of the rain so that my oils would still stick to the surface. I concentrated on getting the shapes and colours correct. There was no time for any thought of details as the weather changed so very quickly. One minute the filtered morning light was bright and the next it was dark with heavy rain. I painted my observation during one of the brief bright periods. 

The bright, violet circles are the
tops of strong convection

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

#2551 "Cumulus Surfing the Waves"

#2551 "Cumulus Surfing the Waves" 5"x7"

This was the the third and last morning of the International Plein Air Painters Worldwide Paint Out 2021. The global paint out was in conjunction with the Kingston School of Art (KSOA) and Paint the Town. I thought that I would start painting a series of weather observations. The sky and inland seas of Lake Ontario were going to be the most exciting part of the turbulent morning. 

Water Vapour Imagery revealing the convective
cloud cells

I continued painting weather observations - this one was started at 10:00 am. This view is actually really looking more into the morning sun across Wolfe Island. The more subdued asperitus were still present over Wolfe Island but I was interested in the increasing size of the convective elements. Showers would be happening soon. The background colour of the cirrostratus cloud illuminated by the morning sun was also very beautiful. 

The small and smooth panels encouraged me to just lay the correct colours in and then leave them alone. For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you. 

#2550 "Portsmouth Harbour Asperitus"

#2550 "Portsmouth Harbour Asperitus" 5x7

This was the third and last morning of the International Plein Air Painters Worldwide Paint Out 2021. The global paint out was in conjunction with the Kingston School of Art (KSOA) and Paint the Town. I thought that I would start painting a series of weather observations. The sky and inland seas of Lake Ontario were going to be the most exciting part of the turbulent morning. 

I continued painting weather observations - this one was started at 9:45 am. Asperitus is a new cloud form. Asperitas requires a stable layer in the atmosphere and wind shear. It helps if the winds are also strong. The wavelength of the cloud pattern varies directly with the wind speed. The stable layer was the warm conveyor belt of the approaching rain storm. 

The convective elements riding the waves of the asperitus were directed northeastward with the warm conveyor belt. The keen observer would note that something had to be amiss. I actually observed these clouds looking northward across Portsmouth Harbour and the buildings and the house and the sail boats. That foreground did not interest me as the clouds were the subject of the observation. I used the more generic shore of Wolfe Island instead. 

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

#2549 "Wolfe Castellanus Virga"

#2549 "Wolfe Castellanus Virga"

I continued painting weather observations - this one was started at 9:00 am. I turned to look more eastward across the wind turbines of Wolfe Island. Note the gravity waves in the bottom of the warm conveyor belt - interesting. 

Some thicker convective cloud streets were being directed toward the northeast with the southwesterly winds. Some of the taller convective elements were producing virga which drifted earthbound. None of those drops reached the ground but it would only be a matter of time until some did. The clouds were converting the morning light into soft shades of rose. 

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

#2548 "Wolfe Island Unstable Warm Winds"

This was the sunrise on the third and last morning of the International Plein Air Painters Worldwide Paint Out 2021. The global paint out was in conjunction with the Kingston School of Art (KSOA) and Paint the Town. 

I thought that I would start painting a series of weather observations. The sky and inland seas of Lake Ontario were going to be the most exciting part of the turbulent morning. 

I continued painting weather observations. The small and smooth panels encouraged me to just lay the correct colours in and then leave them alone. I started this observation at 8:30 am as the cloud of the warm conveyor belt was becoming thicker. 

The conveyor belt was peppered with convective cells so the weather was not particularly neat and tidy. I had to paint what I saw because I was confident that the reality of nature was correct. I simply scratched the blades of the wind turbines on Wolfe Island into the wet paint. I also included the end of the pier at Portsmouth Harbour. That walkway was fenced off for some reason - probably related to safety and liability. I would have loved to paint from that walkway. 

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