#2743 "Black Rat Maple"

#2743 "Black Rat Maple"
14x11 inches oils on canvas

I needed to step away from #2742 "Snowbirds". I was in danger of overworking the forty-nine buntings and a plein air distraction was exactly what I needed. 

February 11th, 2023

I headed out to Jim Day Rapids to be certain of having the February sun on my back. That location would also be protected from the southwesterly breeze that was certain to develop as the ridge of high pressure moved further to the east. I had not painted the stump of this very old maple yet and that day of reckoning had arrived. The top of that maple had been blown off one summer afternoon while we watched a severe thunderstorm cross the lake. I had left the rotting stump as a refuge for whatever needed it. That tall maple had been a favourite of the resident black rat snakes and I had often seen them climbing up and down the rough bark. 

Black rat snake climbing down
the ancient maple trunk

Six trumpeter swans had landed in while I painted but I did not notice them until after I was done. Happily, I was in the artistic zone. There is no busy detail in my plein air work as I do not wear my glasses while doing so. It means I do not need to squint my eyes as hard or as often to discern the important shapes, tones and colours. 

This ancient and rotting stump, black rat snakes and pretty much everything else are protected within the Singleton Sanctuary. 

Paints with snakes. They are harmless and shy

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick