#2909 "Christmas Holiday Sunset Contrails"

 

#2909 "Christmas Holiday Sunset Contrails"
14x11 inches oils on canvas

Water Vapour Image

It was almost the shortest day of the year. The afternoon sky told the story of the next weather system. It was 3:45 pm on the afternoon of Thursday, December 19th, 2024. Contrails stretched across the Singleton sky. Jets were carrying people to and fro all around the globe for the holiday season. The upper-level air mass was moist due to the warm conveyor belt of the approaching storm. Such contrails can be very persistent as they drift with the upper winds. These contrails were sliding southward under the anticyclonic companion of the warm conveyor belt. 

The energetics of the atmosphere would also result in the rapid development of a storm in the Gulf of Maine. The classic storm would threaten the plans of holiday travellers. Our family from Nova Scotia caught an early Friday morning flight out of Halifax and avoided all indecision and turmoil. They were supposed to arrive late on Saturday evening. That flight eventually took off about 5 hours late arriving in Ottawa early on Sunday morning. Happily, everyone had happily already arrived at Singleton before noon on Friday. 

This painting is all about lines. Multiple contrails mixed in with the cirrostratus. The dominant contrail on the left ascending from Pearson International was below the cirrus deck. A secondary contrail was headed into CYYZ and was not catching the last rays of daylight. That line in the sky was much less obvious. 

The deformation zone leading the warm conveyor belt was the biggest line in the sky. The cirrostratus leading edge had already passed to the east of Singleton. Swells within the atmospheric ocean explained the banding displayed by the thicker swaths of cirrus. 

Other lines in the sky were either Langmuir streaks aligned with the upper winds or more gravity waves. I just painted what I saw. There is really no need to explain further. There was a winter storm on the way and it was time to hunker down at home in front of the wood fire.

Another line across the ice was a mystery. My first guess was that the pack of coyotes had crossed the ice. The answer appeared with the family of otters frolicking, slipping and sliding along that icy path. They were on their way for another meal of Singleton fishes. That trail was a well-used highway. The otters are the welcomed comedians of Singleton. 

The painting was also a study of subtle colour changes in both the cirrus and the surface of Singleton. If the colours are not right, the landscape can not ring true.  

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection. Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2025. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick