#2976 "September Singleton Sunset over Point Paradise"

#2976 "September Singleton Sunset over Point Paradise" 
16 x 20 by 3/4 profile depth (inches).
Started 1:30 pm Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025 

This was sunset on Labour Day Monday, September 1st, 2025, signalling the end of a very unusual summer. High UV values under brilliant, blue skies, smoke from the Boreal Forest wildfires, poor stagnant air quality and extreme heat all encouraged me to stay in the Studio or in the relative shade and cool of the Singleton Forest. I managed to complete many larger Studio paintings. 

The sky seemed to respond to the last hurrah of summer before school started.  My friend John Verburg captured this spectacular inspiration. Our home is on the eastern basin of Singleton Lake, so we witness a different portion of the sky. 

The bands of altocumulus were on the back, western edge of the deformation zone associated with a departing low-pressure area. The red and pink hues of the clouds were partly the result of smoke from wildfires in northern Canada. The layer of moisture became thinner on the outward edge of the system. Subtle descent poked holes in that overcast cloud layer, allowing the curulean blue of the sky to peek through. The bands of clouds were caused by gravity waves generated by the wind pattern around the low-pressure area. The rising air associated with a low can be like dropping a pebble in a quiet pond, although in this case, the disturbance is directed upward. All this was reflected in the quiet surface of the lake. 

We watched three kayakers with gear inspecting the eastern shoreline of Singleton. We were concerned that they might be thinking of camping overnight. The Singleton forest was tinder dry. A Fire Ban had been in effect most of the summer, and it was still much too dry for an open campfire. If a spark burst into flame, it would be a challenge to save that uncut Carolinian forest. 

I travelled to where we lost sight of the kayakers. I was delighted to discover three ladies enjoying a flame-free picnic dinner on one of the rocky points. From their vantage, they witnessed a strange man emerging from the dense forest. I quietly sat down on a rock some distance away, so that they would not feel threatened. 

I introduced myself and reclined on the rocks as well, taking the time to describe some of the Singleton story. I told them about the large bear that had swam across the lake to a nearby point the previous evening. They admitted to being too afraid to even venture into the forest.  After a few laughs, I returned to Jim Day Rapids and left the Ottawa ladies to enjoy their meal and the peace and quiet of Singleton. 

Sunset was progressing when we watched them load their kayaks and paddle into the west basin of Singleton Lake. John's photograph from his vantage point of the Singleton Lake Family Campground included the kayakers and the ripples they produced. Sunset occurred at 7:45 pm, marking the end of the 2025 holiday season. 

The following collage includes a few of the steps taken to interpret these clouds and reflections in oils on canvas. The process always starts with a blank canvas. One is never really certain just where it will go... 

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