#3022 "Singleton Summer Solstice Showery Sunset"

#3022 "Singleton Summer Solstice Showery Sunset"
24 X 20 inches, oils on stretched canvas.
Started 10:00 am Sunday, June 21st, 2026

This was the Singleton sky at 8:53 pm on Saturday, June 20th, 2026. Summer Solstice would arrive a few hours later at 08:25 UTC (4:25 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time early on Sunday morning). For us, it was going to be a day of rest, except that I would start this painting in the Studio. My Dad always and most deservedly took Sundays off. Memories of my father always come back to me when I am at the Studio Easel that he made. 

That sunset sky was special for being "unusual and very pretty". I thought it deserved to be interpreted in oils on a canvas stretched over a frame that my Dad had built. My goal is to use every one of those stretcher bars that were built out of the wood that was the main post supporting the back porch of our home at 24 East Avenue in Brockville, Ontario. Waste not, want not. 

The sunset light was reflecting off the cloud bases. Those clouds were the remnants of collapsing thunderstorms. The afternoon convection had been quite intense, with almost an inch of rain being recorded at Singleton. The cloud bases became a relatively stable layer with the collapse of the convection. Winds from that subsidence also rippled gravity waves in those cloud bases. Weak shafts of virga accompanied those downdrafts. All of this was reflected in the calm waters of Singleton Lake. 

The following collage summarizes the meteorology of the sunset sky. 

Solstice is a big celebration around the planet. Summer Solstice marks the astronomical start of summer and the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The Earth's axis tilts away from the sun from this point forward, so the days will gradually shorten until the winter solstice in December, marking the shortest day of the year. Sunday would enjoy 15 hours and 31 minutes of sunlight. That leaves 8 hours and 29 minutes of night, neglecting quantum effects... 

The Summer Solstice is an especially big deal at Stonehenge, pictured above.. The modern celebrations that occur at Stonehenge are off the scale, with people dressing in Druid clothing. 

The Stonehenge story does not end with hoards of people singing and dancing around the bluestones in 2026... the Solstice story goes back much longer.

Scientists agree on one theory that three tribes contributed to the building of Stonehenge at three different times. Neolithic agrarians, called the Windmill Hill People, started construction around 3,000 BC. The highly organized and industrious Bleaker People came next around 2,000 BC. Scientists believe that they were also sun worshippers, and it was the Bleaker People who aligned Stonehenge with certain important solar events such as the Summer and Winter solstices. The Wessex People were the third and final group to have worked on Stonehenge. They arrived around 1,500 BC at the height of the Bronze Age.

Stonehenge was used as a burial site for at least part of its life. Stonehenge was also thought to be a place of healing. The massive bluestones were said to have curative powers. Stonehenge also aligns with the sun on the solstices. 

Recent research has discovered that the story of Solstice actually extends back to the Stone Age to Bulford and 2950 BC.

At nearby Larkhill, a Neolithic enclosure from around 3700 BC, almost 1000 years before Bulford, has its entrance facing north-east toward Sidbury Hill, the highest point on the horizon. Even Stone Age people understood the seasonal movements of the sun. 

#3022 "Singleton Summer Solstice Showery Sunset"

I use art to learn science and, in this case, history. A stunning sunset at Singleton can turn into an exciting discovery of many separate stories. All of nature turns to enjoy a good sunrise and sunset. We are no different. Perhaps busy modern humans would benefit from being more like their Stone Age ancestors and look past the steel and concrete to enjoy the sun and the sky. 

Humans have acquired much knowledge in the last 5000 years, but not wisdom. The last two hundred years of the Industrial Revolution have doubled atmospheric carbon with catastrophic results. Fuelled by insatiable greed and the lust for power, climate tipping points are toppling. There is no going back, and the dominant nations of the world are not doing nearly enough to change their ways. Any actions taken now can only influence the scale of the looming catastrophe. 

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

Warmest regards, and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick