#2993 "February Singleton Sunset with Underlit Stratocumulus"

 

#2993 "February Singleton Sunset with Underlit Stratocumulus"
11 X 14 (inches).
Started at 11 am, Wednesday, January 21st, 2026 

This is another look at the inspiration for #2992 "February Winter Sunset at Jim Day Rapids", only slightly shifted toward the north. Every sky painting is different, even if the weather and sky inspiration are the same. 

If you closely examine the cloud structures, there are hints of Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability. The distinct curls at the top of the clouds are the result of wind shear between the two air masses. A relatively stable layer separates those two distinctly different volumes of atmosphere. The winds are stronger or in a different direction in the air above the stable layer, causing horizontal vortices to develop. Think of a large paper towel roll! You can cause that roll to spin either with a gentle push forward on the top or by pulling sheets out from the bottom... 

The following graphic details how relative wind shear across the boundary of the stable layer can create these interesting vortices. 

Otherwise, this painting is all about the colours and reflection of light. I employed two palettes to achieve just the right hues and to keep my oils clean - well, less messy than they were. The colours had to be right.

I was chasing the light. Nothing should be able to go faster than that. I will never fully catch the light, no matter how I might try. 

Consider that the speed of light, "c" is a fixed constant, always experimentally measured to be the same value regardless of the motion of the observer! Light speed must then be a direct function of the space-time lattice and some pretty heavy theoretical physics. Consider that velocity equals distance (space) divided by time, both of which, according to Einstein and observational evidence, are variable and dependent on mass. Changes in space and time as a result of mass conspire to keep "c" as a universal constant! Amazingly, Einstein linked them all through his mass-energy equivalence formula:

I preferred to understand a principle rather than follow a recipe to get to the right answer. That thought process was doable in high school. It took longer and was almost impossible to achieve at university. Sadly, I missed attending a Stan Rogers' appearance at the Queen's University Pub because I was struggling with the "why" behind some equations. I should have gone to see Stan and regretted missing seeing just a rare talent! I am not a "pub patron", but I do love music, especially of that Canadian vintage. The equation or name of something is rather meaningless if you don’t understand the underlying principles. More than a century later, there is still much to learn about Einstein's "simple" equation.

In sharp contrast to nuclear and quantum physics, understanding the atmosphere by observing the new observational platforms of radar and satellite was quite possible to achieve in the 1970s. This might explain my switch from nuclear physics to meteorology upon graduation from Queens in 1976. Securing one of the very few available positions with the then Atmospheric Environment Service was also an incentive. Any profession with a reliable salary and benefits is always in short supply. Applying human strengths of pattern recognition to radar and satellite signatures was my artistic strength and one that I made good use of for the next several decades. Life was very good and rewarding. 

I would suggest the lectures of renowned physicist Richard Philip Feynman in order to get a better handle on the truth behind nature. Feynman had a gift to be able to explain things and make even the very complex comprehensible. Feynman even employed a plastic pocket protector like me. I put coloured pencils instead of glasses in mine and used it for many years as a meteorologist. In the 1980s, meteorology was still an art as well as a science. 

There is still much discussion, however, about quantum entanglement, which might still be instantaneous even if the separation of those qubits is very large... I still read that science, but find it very heavy sledding. Mine was a good choice to leave nuclear physics to study the more tangible science of weather. The clouds are also more conducive for art. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint Collection. Thank you for reading, and stay well!

Warmest regards, and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick