#2703 "September Sunset Swells with Waves and Langmuir at Singleton"

#2703 "September Sunset Swells with Waves
and Langmuir at Singleton"
14x18 inches oils on canvas

Sometimes the most beautiful weather events are associated with those that are also the most destructive. The spectacular sunset at Singleton Lake on the last day of September was the result of Hurricane Ian. The hurricane was in the process of transforming into Post-Tropical Cyclone Ian. 

Post-Tropical Cyclone Ian crossing at sunset on
Friday September 30th, 2022 over South Carolina

The occurrence of such a tropical storm as Ian was just a matter of time as temperatures climb in a warming globe. Increases in the ocean and air temperatures provide fuel for tropical storms. Meteorologists typically use the 28-degree Celsius ocean isotherm as an operational standard for favouring tropical storm development. The atmosphere can also hold an additional 7 to 8 per cent more water vapour with each degree Celsius rise. These powerful storms were inevitable within the changing climate. 

Hurricane Ian made its first United States landfall on Wednesday, September 28th on Florida's west coast as a powerful Category 4 hurricane. Cat 4 Hurricanes cause extreme damage with sustained winds of 209 to 251 kilometres per hour. The winds of Hurricane Ian shredded homes and the wind gusts would have been even higher. The death toll could exceed 75 in Florida alone. The property damage in Florida was estimated to be "well over" $100 billion as a result of this Ian. This is something that meteorologists have been expecting and predicting for years. "Hurricane Ian's rapid intensification could prove to be another example of how a warming planet is changing hurricanes," said Kait Parker, meteorologist and climate scientist at IBM's weather.com. "Research shows we are seeing this far more often than we did in decades past." 

This brilliant sunset was a direct result of Post-Tropical Cyclone Ian. The water vapour image clearly revealed the origin of that colourful moisture. Atmospheric swells surged outward from the strong wind disturbances of Ian. Wind waves were superimposed on top of those swells. Langmuir streaks were perpendicular to the swells. It was a chaotic sunset sky for the last day of September - but nothing like the chaos of Florida and the Appalachian states still being affected by heavy rain and winds. Damaging winds and flooding rainfall would continue to pummel the southeastern United States as Ian pushed inland. The weather can have a tragic side to it as well. 

Hurricane Ian Damage Images

The title reflects my ongoing effort to never duplicate the name of an existing painting. Who is ever going to label a piece of art with a name like that? The number of this painting will certainly be unique. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2702 "Suppertime September Singleton Thunderstorms"

#2702 "Suppertime September Singleton Thunderstorms"
14x18 inches oils

The title reflects my ongoing effort to never duplicate the name of an existing painting. The title pretty much reveals everything about the painting. The thunderstorms occurred before dinner on Monday, September 26th, 2022. I interrupted the supper preparations to go out to stand by the red Muskoka chairs of our Singleton Home overlooking the lake to our west. The thunderstorm was triggered along an indistinct and weak cold front. The real autumn cold air was still back over North Bay and would not arrive for another couple of days. 

The reflections and the dynamics of the airflow around the convective cell caught my eye along with the multitude of shapes and colours. 

Meteorological Summary  showing the weather analysis, visible, water vapour,
Day Cloud Phase RGB, Watertown Radar, and Surface Observations.
There are many ways to examine the weather including oil paints. 

The white beacon of Wicks Pick Lodge stood out on the western shore of Singleton along with a light at the campground, entering its final weekend of the season. Singleton Lake was about to get very quiet in the approaching autumn slumber.  

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2701 "Singleton June Tree Tunnel"

#2701 "Singleton June Tree Tunnel"
7x5 inches oils

I had already visited this location in #2611 "Winter Tree Tunnel". Linda suggested that I do a version of this iconic view in all seasons of the year. 

I was coming back from picking up the Granddaughters at the Ottawa International Airport. This view through the tree tunnel is characteristic of our Singleton Sanctuary and the girls love it. The lighting was from noon on June 25th, 2022. I did not want to commit to a large canvas on a whim but was very pleased with how this evolved.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2700 "Singleton Sunset of Training Thunderstorms"

#2700 "Singleton Sunset of Training Thunderstorms"
14x18 inches oils

We were enjoying the weather crossing Singleton Lake. We have a superb view to the west. 

At 5:14 pm EDT, my friends on the Severe Weather Desk of the Ontario Storm Prediction Centre issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning saying a " line of severe thunderstorms is located from Black Rapids to Little Mud Lake, moving east at 35 km/h." That location accurately described the skyscape we were watching precisely at that moment. I thought that I had better record this event in oils as my personal observation of severe convection. 

This is the second weather observation of the event to augment #2699 "Black Rapids to Little Mud Lake". The thunderstorms were almost over and the sunset was lighting the sky. 

Watertown Radar of the convection at sunset

We did not observe any flooding or damage but then again, I did not go looking. We received 23 mm of rain with this unusual system although that is not a warning criterion of 50 mm in an hour. Torrential rain fell for maybe 30 minutes. If the rain had continued for the full 60 minutes at our location, we would have certainly received the predicted severe accumulation of 50 mm of rain - about two inches. 

This welcomed rainfall would increase the current through Jim Day Rapids and create an endless swimming pool. It takes about six days for the rainfall in this drainage basin to percolate through the Gananoque Waterway System to reach Marble Rock dam and then into the St Lawrence. I very much enjoy but cannot control the speed of the current in my endless swimming pool. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2699 "Black Rapids to Little Mud Lake"

#2699 "Black Rapids to Little Mud Lake"
14x18 inches oils

We were quietly enjoying the weather crossing Singleton Lake in mid-September. We have a superb view of the west. 

At 5:14 pm EDT, my friends on the Severe Weather Desk of the Ontario Storm Prediction Centre issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning saying a " line of severe thunderstorms is located from Black Rapids to Little Mud Lake, moving east at 35 km/h." That location very accurately described the skyscape that we were watching precisely at that moment. I thought that I had better record those clouds in oils as my personal observation of severe convection. 

What really caught my attention is that almost no one except us would know "Little Mud Lake". The name aptly describes the body of water on the northern edge of our Singleton Sanctuary. It is a pretty little lake that is about 5 feet deep with water. There must be at least 30 feet of mud or more beneath that water but I have no way of knowing for certain. I just know from personal experience that the mud just seems to go on forever. Little Mud Lake and the surrounding marshes are home to lots of nature that I endeavour to protect. 

Watertown Radar showing the line of
training cells across Singleton

I had been watching the Watertown radar. A west-to-east parade of thunderstorms had lined up through Singleton toward Brockville and then into New York State south of Ogdensburg. Training of these thunderstorms was a very good possibility and well worth the warning. These heavy rain events are very tricky to get perfect as even a slight shift in the path of the convective cells can greatly diminish the accumulations at any one location. 

There was a swath of bright cloud low on the western shore of Singleton. The lower half of this cloud was drifting toward the northeast. The upper half of the connected cloud was shearing turbulently toward the southeast. The rest of the sky was full of convective elements and subtle variations in colour. The image was from 5:40 pm and the heavy rain began at about 5:50 pm. 

Visible Image showing the cold front. The quasi-stationary 
warm front was oriented along the line of the training
thunderstorms across southern Singleton Lake.

We did not observe any flooding or damage but then again, I did not go looking. We did receive 23 mm of rain with this unusual system although that is not warning criterion which is 50 mm in an hour. Torrential rain fell for maybe 30 minutes. If the rain had continued for the full 60 minutes at our location, we would have certainly received the predicted severe accumulation of 50 mm of rain - about two inches. 

This welcomed rainfall would increase the current through Jim Day Rapids and create an endless swimming pool. It takes about six days for the rainfall in this drainage basin to percolate through the Gananoque Waterway System to reach the Marble Rock dam and then into the St Lawrence. I very much enjoy but cannot control the speed of the current in my endless swimming pool. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2698 "Singleton September Sunrise Stratocumulus"

#2698 "Singleton September Sunrise Stratocumulus"
16x20 inches oils

The front-lit stratocumulus clouds were like pastel sheep strolling across the lake to start a new day in pastures to the north. 

Oceanic Langmuir Streaks but a similar process
occurs in the Atmospheric Ocean as well

The cloud streets were aligned with the light southerly winds in a process of Langmuir helical, interacting vortices. The dominant high pressure area was to the south and the outflow controlled the wind direction within the lower atmosphere. The clues in the cloud that this was a fact were subtle. A few of the cumulus elements displayed the characteristic hump resulting from the vector addition of the convective updraft with the southerly breeze. Cumulus elements typically grow with time and the larger and older cumulus are to the right and further along the street. I remember enjoying my coffee and watching the clouds drift northward with the wind - that fact was the clincher. 

All of this observational science was secondary in my mind as I embraced the sunrise. I simply appreciated the soft and comforting colours. I knew that I needed to record this in oils. Hues of purple were easy to find in the sunrise light. 

Mario and Lily were both famed artists
from Florence, Italy and my friends...

My friend and mentor Mario Airomi always encouraged me to use the biggest brush that I could. Mario was always right. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2697 "Chaffey's Water Under the Bywash Bridge"

#2697 "Chaffey's Water Under the Bywash Bridge"
12x9 inches oils

The Annual International Plein Air Painters (IPAP) Worldwide Paint Out is held the second weekend of September to honour those lost on 911. IPAP started on October 19th, 2001 was designed to be something positive in the wake of the tragedy of 911. The 2022 IPAP Great Worldwide Paint Out is the 20th Anniversary of that first event back in 2002. I have not missed a year of of participation since then. I spent the day at Chaffey's Locks. 

After completing #2696 "Chaffey's Lock Bywash", I headed up the slope to stand in the deeper shade on the walkway that spanned the bywash. I was intrigued by the swirls in the current and the different colours reflecting in the pool. The Opinicon Road runs west from Chaffey's Lock. The road leading into the locks from the east is appropriately named the Chaffey's Lock Road. The miracle of name transformation for the road apparently occurs at the swing bridge that spans the lock just to the right in my subject. There were sometimes cars and motorcycles waiting on the bridge while boats were locking through and the swing bridge was opened. No one seemed to notice me as I painted in the shade. I stayed in the artistic zone and felt very good. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2696 "Chaffey's Lock Bywash"

#2696 "Chaffey's Lock Bywash"
12x9 inches oils

The Annual International Plein Air Painters Worldwide Paint Out is held the second weekend of September to honour those lost on 911. It was designed to be something positive in the wake of 911 and was started on October 19th, 2001. The 2022 IPAP Great Worldwide Paint Out is the 20th Anniversary of that first event back in 2002. I have not missed a year of participating since then.

Tanya Hammond, Freelance Writer & Agricultural Advocate wanted to watch me complete the next painting and I happily obliged. I set up in the midday shade of a large maple looking up the slope toward the bywash. Tanya took some fine pictures which is something I seldom get to see when painting alone. Tanya wrote a very complementary article. I even made the front page of the "Review Mirror" thanks to Tanya!

The bywash channel allows some of the flows that could enter the lock to be diverted and discharged into the river downstream, maintaining flow in the river and keeping Indian Lake at the appropriate level for operation of the lock. The flow may also be called the "washburn" or "weirstream" which combine the Scottish word "burn" meaning stream and "wash" for the old word "bywash" meaning water flowing from a waste weir.

Even though it was a Friday and not a weekend, Chaffey's Locks was buzzing with visitors and boats. The weather was spectacular. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2695 "The Opinicon Pumphouse"

#2695 "The Opinicon Pumphouse"
9x12 oils on canvas

The weather was perfect for the first day of the Annual International Plein Air Painters Worldwide Paint Out 2022. I was painting before 9 am as I had hoped. The sun was just starting to clear the trees of the Opinicon. The small building adjacent to the parking area for Chaffey's Locks was painted in the colours of the Opinicon. It is used as the pumphouse to supply Indian Lake water to the trees and flower beds of the Opinicon. The sun strafed the roof and siding of the buildings with shafts of sunlight. 

Marshall the Cat came to visit me while I painted. I also visited with some travellers from distant places who had come to view the natural beauty of The Rideau. I met Alec who was paddling from Kingston to Ottawa on a blow-up paddle board. I never would have thought that such a venture was possible or practical. His first two days on the Rideau were marked by a strong and chilly headwind. He would have benefited from a meteorologist paddling with him. 

The Annual International Plein Air Painters Worldwide Paint Out is held the second weekend of September to honour those lost on 911. It was designed to be something positive in the wake of 911 and was started on October 19th, 2001. The 2022 IPAP Great Worldwide Paint Out was the 20th Anniversary of that first event back in 2002. I have not missed a year of participating since then.

Tanya Hammond, Freelance Writer & Agricultural Advocate visited with me most of the morning and wrote a very complementary article. I even made the front page of the "Review Mirror" thanks to Tanya!

The Opinicon of Chaffey's Locks

The Opinicon is a historical landmark of Chaffey's Locks that I have enjoyed since I was a kid starting in the early 1960s. As I post this on Thanksgiving Weekend, The Opinicon was celebrating. The ice cream shop was buzzing, the restaurant and pub were full of chatter, and the locks were filled with people strolling along enjoying the beautiful trees in all their Fall colours. It was a fantastic summer full of music, laughter and connection. The Opinicon was so happy to see all the smiling faces. They wished to thank everyone who found the way to their door during the summer and helped us fill The Opinicon with vibrant life. To celebrate the 2022 season they finished with their favourite tradition: 🍦the end of season Scoop Out🍦 ! The Opinicon scooped free ice cream until the buckets were empty. 

 For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2694 "Afternoon August Thunderstorm"

#2694 "Afternoon August Thunderstorm"
16x20 inches oils

I went out to watch the approaching thunderstorm from beside the red chairs. A bolt of lightning just to the southwest made a loud thundercrack as I was rounding the corner of our home. I jumped instinctively. I decided that I had better paint this storm. Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued soon afterward. The thunderstorms were moving toward the east at 50 km/h. Tornado warnings were issued soon after. "A severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado is located 5 kilometers northeast of Rideau River Provincial Park, moving east at 50 km/h."

Remote Sensing can reveal the details of the supercell
without placing anyone in harm's way

The forward flank downdraft appeared to be separate from the rear flank of the convective cell. I wanted to include that meteorology. The severe thunderstorms are likely to pass just north of Singleton riding on the Lake Ontario convergence line. Such was also the case on the last day of August 2022. 

I did not hear of any damage but trees are apt to fall in a forest without anyone seeing or hearing... 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2693 "One of the Sister Islands"

#2693 "One of the Sister Islands"
8x10 canvas oils

This is the easternmost Sister in the trio of nearby islands. The Sister Islands are just north of Rose and Parry Islands. It was a warm 28 degrees Celsius at 10:20 am on Saturday, August 6th, 2022. 

The geography around Killbear and Parry Sound is unique and quite beautiful. The trees are characteristically flagged by the prevailing onshore winds. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2692 "Solitary Pine Island"

#2692 "Solitary Pine Island"
5x7 inches oil

This is an island located just south of Jones Island has one solitary tree surviving on it. I thought that the tree and the island needed to be remembered in oils. Even the smallest island is an important component of the world's largest freshwater archipelago. 

The warm southerly breeze had created some wave action. The temperature was climbing to 25 Celsius even though it was barely mid-morning. 

The Archipelago was formed on January 1, 1980 when the townships of Georgian Bay South Archipelago and Georgian Bay North Archipelago were carved out of unincorporated geographic townships of the Parry Sound District. The name of the area is perfect and hopefully will protect the natural beauty of the islands and waterways for generations. 

I have painted the area before in #2308 "Jonses Lighthouse Parry Sound Archipelago" and #2329 "Jones Island Lighthouse Point". 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2691 "Facing Depot Harbour Sunrise"

#2691 "Facing Depot Harbour Sunrise"
8x10 canvas oils

The northerly winds were bouncing shreds of turbulent stratocumulus across the ragged shores of Depot Harbour just south of Parry Sound. Some buildings still had the night lights on. The temperature was a mild plus 16 Celsius typical of the Dog Days of Summer. That is as chilly as the air mass will get behind a summer cold front. 

One can visualize the wind shear that creates the horizontal vortices in the clouds. Imagine a large cylinder rolling over the landscape. Friction reduces the wind at the ground compared to the stronger winds aloft making the cylinder roll along. 

Tom Thomson and members of the Group of Seven painted in the area for a while around 1914. Parry Sound slumped a bit in economic activity shortly after World War I when J.R. Booth built the rival town of Depot Harbour on nearby Parry Island. An accidental fire destroyed the entire town of Depot Harbour on August 14, 1945. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick