#2831 "Wet Maples in December"

#2831 "Wet Maples in December"
10x8 inches oils on canvas panel

Not surprisingly, the December rain was cold and wet. 

The only option was to paint gazing out of the Singleton Studio window. The marble ridge just to the southeast was blanketed by Carolinian deciduous forest and that provided the out-of-focus backdrop to the sugar maple I had planted a decade before. The maple was still clinging to the last of autumn. Water dripped off the leaves and branches. I was warm and dry with both the wood stove and the 1977 vintage Radio Shack Realistic Stereo on. Some things are built to last. 

 For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick 

#2830 "Wet Carolinian Forest in December"

#2830 "Wet Carolinian Forest in December"
5x7 inches oils on canvas panel

I feel that the northern edge of the Carolinian deciduous forest reaches north of Singleton but not by much. It is therauputic to just walk through the woods named after the Carolina states. Some call that "forest bathing" - a process of relaxation; known in Japan as shinrin yoku. There are even Forest Bathing Clubs - see https://www.forestbathing.club/. 

Carolinian Canada is a unique ecosystem zone found in southern Ontario and especially effective for destressing the effects of the industrial society. The Carolinian zone in Canada is extremely rich in both plant and animal species - especially that found in the Frontennac Arch Biosphere. 

The accompanying map shows the extent of the Carolinian Forest in Southern Ontario in 2007. Another investigation in 2016 stated that less than 15 percent of it remains in scattered stands across southern Ontario. Climate change will extend the possible range of the Carolinian zone northward and past Singleton but it is unclear if ongoing development will be allowed to continue to decimate the Carolinian Ecosystem. 

An examination of the species within the Singleton Sanctuary finds most if not all of the species found in the typical Carolinian zone - black walnut, shagbark hickory (along with various other hickory species), black maple, Chinkapin oak (along with various other oak species) and a host of others. Technically, Singleton Lake is not within the Carolinian zone according to the map but judging from the species present, the map needs to be revised. The Carolina forest hardwoods have cloaked the slope with a smattering of pines, cedars and hemlock mixed in. 

If I had painted outside on Monday December 11th, I would have gotten very, very wet and cold. Forest bathing had to be achieved by simply looking out the Studio window. The colours were brilliant but somewhat subdued by the heavy rain. I don't classify these as plein air works as I was not out painting in the elements. Instead, I was inside with the wood stove crackling away and the tunes on in the background. I still play CDs and have a very eclectic collection. I am very old school but that is OK.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick 

PS: Merry Christmas!

#2829 "February Singleton Storm Sunset"

#2829 "February Singleton Storm Sunset"
oils  on 8x10 canvas panel 

The sunset view looking west across the frozen expanse of Singleton Lake is always inspirational. 

The smooth edges of these cloud bands are characteristic of gravity wave clouds. These are large atmospheric swells in a southerly flow aloft. Those winds were certainly associated with a warm conveyor belt. 

There were subtle wind waves embedded on the swells but I forget which way those ripples were moving. These wind waves were most obvious within the swell on the right edge of the painting but my brush strokes suggest them in the other swells too. 

Given the relative minimum in higher cirrus clouds, those wind waves were probably drifting eastward placing Singleton under the anticyclonic companion of the warm conveyor belt. The centre of the storm and the cyclonic companion were still well to the west. The following graphic depicts how the small wavelength wind waves can be superimposed on the atmospheric ocean swells. The lifted condensation level for that portion of the air mass was between Options 3 and 4 in the graphic. 

A winter storm was on the way. Every cloud has a story to tell. I paint a lot of weather. The clouds and the sky have always inspired me. 

The weather outside was why I was within the shelter of the Singleton Sanctuary Studio. The wood stove was on and the atmosphere was wonderful.  I was listening to the vintage Radio Shack Realistic stereo circa 1976. I find it illuminating that one of the first purchases in our adult lives was also made to last. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick 

PS: Merry Christmas!

#2828 "Singleton Sanctuary Red Cedar in December"

#2828 "Singleton Sanctuary Red Cedar in December"
7x 5 inches oils on canvas panel 

I started this painting outside but quickly retreated to the Singleton Studio. It was warm and comfortable inside and only a few metres from the red cedar inspiration. 

Red cedars are important for wildlife within the Singleton Sanctuary. They are encouraged to grow wherever they can take root. Deer survive through a long winter by browsing on the lower branches. All kinds of birds find shelter in the dense growth and many even consume the small cones as if they were berries. 

Eastern red cedar is useful for windbreaks and hedges on tough, dry, limestone-based soils where little else grows. It rarely requires pruning but tolerates clipping so is sometimes used in ornamental gardens. Eastern red cedar wood is valued for its resistance to insects and rot. 

The red cedar tree is frequently referred to as the "Tree of Life" since its applications are so diverse and extensive. The cedar tree was also held very dear by the Ancient Egyptians who extracted its precious oils for the purposes of mummification. 

Virtually every part of the red cedar tree was used in some aspect of indigenous life - longhouses, canoes, totem poles, baskets, clothing, ropes, cooking utensils and medicines. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick 

PS: Merry Christmas!

#2827 "September Sunrise Weather Story"

#2827 "September Sunrise Weather Story"
14x18 inches oils on stretched canvas

The atmospheric ocean was on full display looking westward across Singleton Lake while the sun rose on my back. The sea of altocumulus clouds filled the sunrise sky with gravity waves. Spirals of Arctic sea smoke twirled and twisted in columns as they rose off the warm water of the lake into the chilly air above.  I would swim for just another few days before the weather turned and became more seasonal. The autumn colours of the Singleton forest would soon be peaking. 

Water Vapour Imagery looked down while I was gazing upward. 

The front-lit, wind-driven gravity waves of altocumulus cloud were part of the anticyclonic companion of a large and slow-moving weather system approaching from Illinois. Embedded swells in the atmospheric ocean were roughly perpendicular to the wind-generated waves. The light, easterly surface winds were part of the cold conveyor belt. This was going to be a significant weather event but I had other things to do then. The cloud can reveal the entire weather story if we only take the time to listen. 

I could not afford to spend the morning standing on the marble ridge. I had to get ready for winter and other things. 

Completed in the Singleton Sanctuary Studio starting on December 1st, 2023

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick 

#1330 "Mouth of the Saugeen"

#1330 "Mouth of the Saugeen"
8x10 oils on canvas 
Started 11:30 am Tuesday August 20th, 2013.
Painting place on Scubby`s Bluff overlooking the mouth
of the Saugeen River at N44.50137 W81.37251.

I was spending a week at the Southampton Art School in the summer of 1913. Two different classes ran back to back. It was fun! 

This was another 37-minute or 37-stroke experiment intermixed with assisting my fellow participants in "Making Waves in Oil". There is no good reason to limit the exercise to 37 minutes except that 37 is a prime number. I think I went over on my number of brush strokes but no one was counting - especially me. 

This view is looking across the harbour mouth of the Saugeen River from Scubby`s Bluff at Southampton toward Chantry Island and the famous life-saving light. The composition was a group consensus and we all had a go at it before the sun started to glare into one's eyes. The sun was very strong in the cloudless skies. 

I wanted to capture the feeling of the place without painting every stone or blade of grass.  There is nothing like painting outside!

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. For more Southampton art, visit Collections. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick 

#1327 "Chantry Shore"

#1327 "Chantry Shore"
11x14. Started 1 pm Monday, August 19th, 2013.
Painting place in front of the
Imperial Tower at N44.48927 W81.40104. 

I was spending a week at the Southampton Art School in the summer of 1913. Two different classes ran back to back. It was fun!

      Looking north with my crew on a beautiful day!  

The afternoon sun directed us to paint looking northerly along the rocky shore of Chantry Island. Trees, rocks, flowers and birds were mixed in with the landscape. American-produced haze from Michigan provided the murky horizon within the marine inversion. Large particulates in the marine inversion dropped the visibility to maybe 6 miles and created a darker, mauve layer on the horizon. We were breathing that air but you couldn't readily taste the difference - the change in air masses was very gradual. The trick was to get the colours, values and intangible feel of the special place without drawing every leaf. It was a wonderful day at a special place at Chantry Light, Southampton. 

I wanted to capture the feeling of the place without painting every stone or blade of grass.  There is nothing like painting outside!

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. For more Southampton art, visit Collections. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick