#2910 "October Sunset on Fire"

#2910 "October Sunset on Fire"  14x11 inches
Oils on canvas started Monday January 6th, 2025.

Christmas was just put away so I decided that it was time to paint. The experience was an epiphany so to speak. Indeed, the 6th of January when I picked up my brushes is known as epiphany. January 6 is observed as a church festival commemorating the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles or in the Eastern Church in commemoration of the baptism of Christ. 

I prefer to use the word "epiphany" as "an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure", "a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something" or "an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking". The world needs more epiphany moments... a lot more! I am an eternal student so am always on the hunt for the next epiphany.

This sunset was from Tuesday, October 8th, 2024 at 6:30 pm. The sky caught our eye and I had decided that the moment needed to be interpreted in oils. It was minus 16 Celsius outside so the decision was easy given that I have already frozen my hands too many times. I had the fire on in the wood stove. The tunes were also playing on my vintage Radio Shack amplifier from 1976. Life is good! 

As always it was the structure of the clouds that caught my eye. The filtered sunset light was striking the undersides of the more distant cloud. There was no hint of winter on the horizon! 

I record a lot of warm conveyor belts. They display the most interesting cloud types and structures. Thunderstorms may be interesting but do not display the meteorology of a conveyor belt. My view was looking southwesterly into the anticyclonic flow of the approaching system. 

The sky was overcast in thin cirrostratus. The solid deck of altostratus was opaque. Langmuir streaks were evident in the cloud revealing the southwesterly winds above the warm frontal surface. The surface winds were easterly. The cold conveyor belt drawn into the approaching low revealed that the system was stronger than average. The forested Singleton shoreline sheltered the eastern bay of Singleton from those winds. Waves gradually built with the fetch across the lake causing the surface to be much more rippled on the far shore. Those waves reflected the blue of the overhead altostratus. The nearby calm waters glancingly reflected the bright light of the setting sun low on the horizon. That sun below the horizon could only illuminate the undersides of the more distant cloud.  

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