Tuesday, November 26, 2024

#2903 "Summer Paradise at Hedgehog Island on Red Horse Lake"

#2903 "Summer Paradise at Hedgehog Island on Red Horse Lake"
4  X 6  and 1/4 profile (inches).
Started 11:00 am Friday, September 13th, 2024
from very near N44.541769° W76.076237° 

This was the fifth work of the three-day International Plein Air Painters (IPAP) WORLDWIDE Paint Out. There was not much of an "internet" in the autumn of 2001 to facilitate the forming of the International Plein Air Painters Organization. This plein air painting group was simply started within "Yahoo Groups". Small gatherings of artists responded to the horrific tragedy that was 911 throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil, Italy and some islands in the Caribbean. In 2024 International Plein Air Painters celebrates its 23rd Anniversary. I am a Charter and Honours Signature member of IPAP joining immediately in October 2001 when approached by the founder and my friend Jacq Baldini. 

I also painted this windswept point in #2685 "End of the Line on Webster Road". The cottage on the north side of the bottleneck separating the east and west basins of Red Horse Lake has always caught my eye. Apparently, this cottage is on Hedgehog Island according to the maps I could find. The flagged pines on the exposed tip of Hedgehog Island never cease to inspire my brush. 

Occasionally I see vehicles parked at this pretty cottage. Webster Road must be passable but I have never driven it. Once in a spring flood (I think it was 2014), I actually paddled to Webster Road via Lyndhurst Creek and Mud Lake. Webster Road was washed out at that point. The actual roadbed was 10 to 15 feet above the flood waters but the torrent had burst through a significant chunk of the road making it impassable by anything except my canoe. It was a fun paddle. Mud Lake is not very deep!

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick 

Saturday, November 23, 2024

#2902 "Shore Lunch Isle on Red Horse Lake"

#2902 "Shore Lunch Isle on Red Horse Lake"
4  X 6  and 1/4 profile (inches).
Started 10:30 am Friday, September 13th, 2024
from very near N 44.536882° W76.081923° 
 
This was the fourth work of the three-day International Plein Air Painters (IPAP) WORLDWIDE Paint Out. There was not much of an "internet" in the autumn of 2001 to facilitate the forming of the International Plein Air Painters Organization. This plein air painting group was simply started within "Yahoo Groups". Small gatherings of artists responded to the horrific tragedy that was 911 throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil, Italy and some islands in the Caribbean. In 2024 International Plein Air Painters celebrates its 23rd Anniversary. I am a Charter and Honours Signature member of IPAP joining immediately in October 2001 when approached by the founder and my friend Jacq Baldini. 

The only people that I have ever seen on this small island were fishing guides and their clients. There is a nice fire pit and a convenient place to relax in the midday heat. I have yet to discover a proper name for this particular island although the one just to the north is clearly labelled as Indian Island on maps. That island also sports a "No Trespassing" sign so I have never actually beached my canoe on its shore. 

I do not know the actual name of this island if there is one - yet. I just imagined that "Shore Lunch Isle" was most appropriate. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick 

Tuesday, November 19, 2024

#2901 "Fisherman's Cove at the Narrows on Red Horse Lake"


#2901 "Fisherman's Cove at the Narrows on Red Horse Lake"
Oils on burnt sienna oil tinted commercial canvas panel - 8 X 10 (inches).
Started 9:45 am Friday, September 13th, 2024
from very near N44.527096 W76.091022

This was the third work of the three-day International Plein Air Painters (IPAP) WORLDWIDE Paint Out. There was not much of an "internet" in the autumn of 2001 to facilitate the forming of the International Plein Air Painters Organization. This plein air painting group was simply started within "Yahoo Groups". Small gatherings of artists responded to the horrific tragedy that was 911 throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil, Italy and some islands in the Caribbean. In 2024 International Plein Air Painters celebrates its 23rd Anniversary. I am a Charter and Honours Signature member of IPAP joining immediately in October 2001 when approached by the founder and my friend Jacq Baldini. 

As Jacq wrote recently:

"In 2001 it (911) hit my home (New York) and I felt strongly that en plein air painting could not remain regional, we had to come together as artists, Americans and the world through creating what we loved to do, not destroying and editing artists in Countries and Regions. It definitely needed to be inclusive, a World Wide movement to start the healing of our hearts and souls where creativity lives. From the small Yahoo group of which you were a Charter Member, we advanced and in 2024 have celebrated our 23rd Anniversary." 

This is the first time that I painted the northwest shore of the Narrows. This view was looking northwesterly just to the west of #2900 "Boathouse at Red Horse Lake Narrows". The subtle current was still taking the pontoon boat on a slow cyclonic tour of the north shore of Long Reach. The boat kept turning slowly in the gyre so I just kept painting. 

The Narrows is a friendly and quaint community on Red Horse Lake located at the northwest end of Long Reach. The history of the Narrows goes back not only to the early 1800’s but for thousands of years before that as well. It has always been a wonderful and enchanting place to live and an important destination to reach and explore. 

In The Rear of Leeds & Lansdowne : the making of community on the Gananoque River frontier, 1796-1996 by Glenn J. Lockwood, from 2012, it is recorded that a road was proposed to link Gananoque to the Narrows in the early 1800s. Apparently "Such a road was built as far north as the eighth concession of Leeds by Joel Stone in 1815, with Truman Hicock arranging to build the section north to the Narrows. At best it was a poor, winding link between the front and rear of Leeds. By the time it was built the administrative boundaries of Leeds and Lansdowne Rear had already taken shape. 

On page 202 of that book: 

"At a time when travel of any distance on area roads was fraught with difficulty, the forwarding of crops to market in boats down the Gananoque from Charleston, and perhaps from other points in Leeds and Lansdowne Rear, allowed Gananoque to offer some limited competition to Kingston and Brockville for the forwarding business of the back country. As late as 1832 it is possible to find maps showing the road constructed by Joel Stone and Truman Hicock in 1815 from Gananoque to the Narrows, but it was such a winding difficult route, that its use, if it ever was extensive, was curtailed almost completely, first, by use of the Gananoque River, and then by the opening of the Rideau Canal."  

1861 Map of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Canada West

The forest provides quite a beautiful backdrop for the idyllic location. I know the owners well. I hope they like my version of their home at the Narrows which remains an important destination in 2024. 


For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick 

Sunday, November 17, 2024

#2900 "Boathouse at Red Horse Lake Narrows"

This was the second work of the three-day International Plein Air Painters (IPAP) WORLDWIDE Paint Out. There was not much of an "internet" in the autumn of 2001 to facilitate the forming of the International Plein Air Painters Organization. This plein air painting group was simply started within "Yahoo Groups". Small gatherings of artists responded to the horrific tragedy that was 911 throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil, Italy and some islands in the Caribbean. In 2024 International Plein Air Painters celebrates its 23rd Anniversary. I am a Charter and Honours Signature member of IPAP joining immediately in October 2001 when approached by the founder and my friend Jacq Baldini. 

#2900 "Boathouse at Red Horse Lake Narrows"
Oils on burnt sienna oil tinted commercial canvas panel - 8 X 10 (inches).
Started 9:15 am Friday September 13th, 2024
from very near N44.527096 W76.091022 

After painting #2899 "Grippen Lake Creek Finds Long Reach", I headed to the other end of Long Reach in order to keep the sun on my back. The Narrows is the quaint community at the end of Red Horse Lake Road. The Narrows straddles the beautiful Red Horse Lake which has been a favourite destination for eons.

The anguish of the sinking boathouse at the Narrows always catches my eye. One end of the once-level structure continues to sink into the mud of the shallow bay. The boat launch is paved into the water. The homes always seem to have some activity going on with people talking and moving stuff from here to there. The slam of a screen door punctuated the activity while I painted. The sound carried well on the September morning. The bustle of activity and the Carolinian Forest provided quite a beautiful backdrop for the idyllic location. 

The subtle current took the pontoon boat in a slow cyclonic tour of the northwest shore of Long Reach. This time the pontoon boat was on the other side of the "jet stream current" as compared to the outlet from Grippen Creek. That gyre is consistent with the current which is half blocked at the exit to the next portion of Red Horse Lake. The entrance to the rest of Red Horse Lake was indeed "narrow" but back in the 1950s, it was double what it is now. 

In The Rear of Leeds & Lansdowne : the making of community on the Gananoque River frontier, 1796-1996 by Glenn J. Lockwood, from 2012, it is recorded that a road was proposed to link Gananoque to the Narrows in the early 1800s. Apparently ... 

"Such a road was built as far north as the eighth concession of Leeds by Joel Stone in 1815, with Truman Hicock arranging to build the section north to the Narrows. At best it was a poor, winding link between the front and rear of Leeds. By the time it was built the administrative boundaries of Leeds and Lansdowne Rear had already taken shape. 

On page 202 of that book: 

"At a time when travel of any distance on area roads was fraught with difficulty, the forwarding of crops to market in boats down the Gananoque from Charleston, and perhaps from other points in Leeds and Lansdowne Rear, allowed Gananoque to offer some limited competition to Kingston and Brockville for the forwarding business of the back country. As late as 1832 it is possible to find maps showing the road constructed by Joel Stone and Truman Hicock in 1815 from Gananoque to the Narrows, but it was such a winding difficult route, that its use, if it ever was extensive, was curtailed almost completely, first, by use of the Gananoque River, and then by the opening of the Rideau Canal." 

I have yet to locate a map detailing the path of that early and historic road. Perhaps it might still be found somewhere... I would love to add more to the history of the area in this post should anyone wish to share their experiences and knowledge. 

1861 Map of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Canada West

The history of the Narrows certainly goes back much further for thousands of years. Red Horse Lake and area has apparently always been a wonderful and enchanting destination. We call it home...

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick 

Friday, November 15, 2024

#2899 "Grippen Lake Creek Finds Long Reach"

 

#2899 "Grippen Lake Creek Finds Long Reach"
Oils on medium burnt sienna oil tinted commercial canvas panel - 8  X 10 (inches).
Started 8:45 am Friday September 13th, 2024 from very near N44.512189 W76.109307 

This was the first work of the three-day International Plein Air Painters (IPAP) WORLDWIDE Paint Out. There was not much of an "internet" in the autumn of 2001 to facilitate the forming of the International Plein Air Painters Organization. This plein air painting group was simply started within "Yahoo Groups". Small gatherings of artists responded to the horrific tragedy that was 911 throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil, Italy and some islands in the Caribbean. In 2024 International Plein Air Painters celebrates its 23rd Anniversary. I am a Charter and Honours Signature member of IPAP joining immediately in October 2001 when approached by the founder and my friend Jacq Baldini. 

International Plein Air Painters has always had the purpose of uniting artists who have a love of painting outdoors from life without the regional restrictions of political or artificial borders. The first Annual Great WORLDWIDE Paint Out was in September 2002. The paint-out is scheduled on the Friday through Sunday of the weekend closest to the tragic anniversary of 911. The 2024 Annual Great WORLDWIDE Paint Out will be the 22nd such event. I have not missed a year painting at least one of the three days. For several years I helped to organize larger, all weekend events at Rockport and Kingston, Ontario. Starting in 2019, COVID has changed the world in many ways similar to 911. Now I tend to just stay home and paint. Until this September, we had avoided COVID at Singleton... but that's another sad story... 

Friday the 13th is rumoured to be an "unlucky day" in western superstition. It was certainly a bad day for the Knights Templar in 1307 when they were arrested by officers of King Philip IV of France (no relation). The knights were imprisoned and tortured with more than 50 eventually being burned at the stake. 

It takes a couple of months to process the global data.

In 2024, Eastern Canada was under the influence of a large Omega Block which spanned both the Polar and Arctic jet streams. The easterly flow on the south side of the Omega Block really showed up in the water vapour imagery on Friday the 13th, 2024. This time, it was the planet that was burning up under the impacts of Climate Change. It was an unusually long and persistent blocking pattern that brought clear skies and calm winds to Eastern Ontario for most of the month of September. The weather was very unseasonably hot from when I was a kid but it was a perfect day to be outside painting and surrounded by nature. 

I used the pontoon boat as my painting platform. I stopped on the outside of the weak flow from Grippen Lake. The gentle anticyclonic circulation swirled the boat toward the northwestern shore of Long Reach. I had to turn to keep my subject in view and compensate for the twisting of the boat. It was a pleasant way to paint that quiet September morning. Sometimes I felt a lot like an owl swivelling my head. 

There had been a remarkable Belt of Venus at sunrise but that was long gone leaving only autumn haze in the western sky. I appreciated the way that the white pines stretched into the sky. 

That fatal Friday in 1307 evolved into some very bad years that spelled the end of the Knights Templar. The scorching day in September 2024 was just another one of the hot days that turned into months. Those very tropical months morphed into roasting centuries for the planet. It was another step in the demise of nature as humans enjoyed it before the Industrial Revolution. 

The 21st Century is becoming identified as the "Century of Fire". Climate change is still a better descriptive term as the weather adjusts to the new normals. Some areas will indeed become hotter and drier while some will be washed away by torrential hurricanes and winds. Coastal areas will be flooded as the ice caps melt. All of this was predicted very accurately starting around 1800 but politicians were not listening...

Gobla Data for July 2024. July 2024 was the second warmest month (for global average temperature) on record, only 0.04°C behind the record set in July 2023. It was simply another month of global extreme heat. The "one-point-five" line in the sand was in the rearview mirror as the politicians 
accelerated the fossil fool race car over the cliff of no return... just my opinion of course.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick 

#2907 "November Sunset Edge of Snowsqualls"

#2907  "November Sunset Edge of Snowsqualls" 11 X 14 (inches). Started 9:00 am Saturday, November 30th, 2024 based on the previous...