#2573 "Halloween Sunset on Fire"

#2573 "Halloween Sunset on Fire" 11x14

The sunset sky was on fire. The light also lit up the Singleton forest. I had to record the sky in oils but I ran out of light. The memory was my first assignment in the Singleton Studio the following morning. 

Water Vapour Satellite View of the Singleton Sunset

One cold front had already crossed Singleton Lake and the winds had shifted around to the west. Turbulent stratocumulus cloud filled the sunset sky. Langmuir streaks stretched across the surface of the lake. The downward, calm portions of the Langmuir circulations were the mirrors that reflected the sunset. The rippled, upward returns that completed the fluid circulations, were rippled and darker with the colours of the overhead clouds. The golden rays of the setting sun set it all ablaze. There were many subtle colour variations in the clouds and I wished to do justice to them all. There was no real need to understand all of the physics in order to appreciate the understated beauty of nature - although I try to do both. The trick is to be grateful for the treat. 

Irving Langmuir was an American chemist and physicist
who won the 1932 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
for his work in surface chemistry. Irving was
naturally curious.

This cold front marked the beginning of a chilly but drier week at Singleton. 

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