#2938 "Singleton South Shore November Paddle"

#2938 "Singleton South Shore November Paddle" 
11x14 inches oils on stretched canvas.
Started March 25th, 2025 in the Studio

The surface of Singleton was like glass and called to me. There was no one on the lake - just me and my canoe. The cliffs are very high on the south shore of Singleton. That shoreline is excellent for nature as it is very rugged and inaccessible. I snapped this photo of a favourite cliff at 2:45 pm on Wednesday, November 21st, 2012.. a long time ago. 

The annual changes in the water levels of Singleton Lake are significant. The spring floods of 2014 were the highest we had seen, but they had been even higher in the pioneer past. The lake levels are lowest in midsummer. The upstream barrier at "Furnace Falls", aka Lyndhurst and the downstream dam at Marble Rock control the comings and goings of the water and the lake trout. I often wonder what and who decides the operation of the dams. Is the water level controlled for nature, people or hydro power? The water and ice have etched these wide variations in the steep cliffs of Singleton's south shore. I paint what I see. 

The paddle and painting brought back memories of fishing on the St Lawrence in the 1960s. That was before the impacts of the Seaway and the associated locks that opened the Great Lakes to the oceans in 1959 were obvious. Exploitation and extraction of the environment were just a business in which nature had no role to play... no vote in democracy.

Nothing much has changed, although I have tried my very best to have a positive impact. Politicians do not respond to my letters that detail the science. See "State of the Great Lakes 2022" which paints a sadly realistic picture.  

My generation of atmospheric scientists has also failed to alter the course of fossil fuel consumption. Big business controls the political systems, fueled by greed for more and more. Enough is never enough. "Drill baby drill" is the current slogan. The war on science and knowledge has reached new levels of severity.

The following graphs depict the sad story with no need for words... the science spans 50 million years into the past, although the last few decades have been measured in greater detail.  

It was a mix of snow and rain showers outside when I started this painting. Plein air painting would not have been very pleasant. After I finished this painting, #2938 on Friday, March 28th, I went for a paddle on the east basin of Singleton. The western half of the lake was still thick with ice. The buffleheads had just returned home, and I logged that in my file that summarizes the annual migrations. 

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. 

In front of the Pacific Energy wood stove, using two palettes and lots of brushes.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick