#2834 "January Thin Ice at Jim Day Rapids"

#2834 "January Thin Ice at Jim Day Rapids"
8x10 inches oils on canvas
10 am Friday, January 5th, 2024

Singleton Lake had been essentially ice-free until the night of Thursday, January 4th, 2024. The weather and thus the climate, (which is the integral of weather) had been very unusual over the Christmas Festive Season. There had been no snow on the ground except for one system in early December. 

Some snow fell overnight after the ice had formed clearly revealing the extent of the ice. The strong current through Jim Day Rapids was made obvious by the stretches of open water. It is never safe to trust the ice around the rapids. That ice and most of the snow that fell would all be gone by Saturday morning. 

A bald eagle and a flock of common mergansers kept me company while I painted in the snow. The squirrels were nervous but still scurried around me. It was a pleasant morning in the shelter of the small forest> the trees were the windbreak that protected me from the windchill. I was wearing a pair of warm boots and my feet stayed toasty warm. 

My oil paints were freezing on the palette. The oils were also mixing with the snow which resulted in some interesting oatmeal effects in the paint. This has happened many times before. I keep looking for that masterwork... 

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Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick