#3026 "Island Queen at Harold's Rock"

#3026 "Island Queen at Harold's Rock"
12 X 18 inches oils on canvas.
 Started 10:30 am Tuesday, June 30th, 2026

My friend Cam was cruising around on a sunny Sunday afternoon, just lovin' life! Cam knows what I enjoy interpreting in oils and is always on the lookout for me. I use his suggestions for Studio paintings when conditions encourage me to stay inside. Singleton was in the middle of an oppressive heat wave with high UV values and smoke from Boreal infernos. Any outside activity was discouraged given the Climate Crisis conditions. It would be impossible to paint those scenes on location as well without a very sturdy "painting barge"! The water would be much too deep for my field easel. 

This inspiration is from 3 pm on Sunday, June 28th, 2026. The meteorology of this particular afternoon was described already in #3024 "Cousin Islands Flags". The weather was explained in the context of looking southward to an approaching storm. This view was looking northward, away from that significant system. The weather to the north on the sunny side of the deformation zone looked completely different! This highlights how important it is to scan the 360 degrees of the horizon when making an observation and attempting to understand the weather. 

I suspect that the passengers on the Island Queen were thrilled with the wonderful scenery and weather. They were probably oblivious to the clouds just to their north. Those were developing thunderstorms triggered along the Georgian Bay lake breeze front. The air mass was very convectively unstable. 

This painting is all about the weather. Please let me interpret what I see and how I do it using some meteorology. Someday, it might save your life. Shocking but true.  

The vertical cross-sectional conceptual model above is vital for vertical motions. Satellite views and associated conceptual models are essential for deciphering the crucial horizontal winds that trigger the release of convective energy. 

Thunderstorms are fascinating. Many conceptual models detail the life cycle of the various types of thunderstorms and how to predict their development and movements. 

Start the interest in weather very young.

I gave countless presentations during my career with Environment Canada. Severe convection and climate change were my favourite topics after "Tom Thomson Was A Weatherman". By far the scariest talk was about the climate crisis! The Earth is currently in the verification stage of that terrifying very-long-range forecast first prepared by oil company scientists in the 1960s. See "Big carbon's strategic response to global warming, 1950-2020."  

Some of the material from those presentations was included in the "Weather of Ontario" published by Lone Pine in 2009. 

Most of my humour was edited out of the final publication. After all, weather is a serious business and becoming even more vital with climate change. One line was left in. I employ the following phrase in every presentation where it might possibly fit: 

• "Everyone wants to see a tornado before they die...
• (long pause to let the mental image of a violent tornado sink in) ... 
•                                                                     but not just before they die."

Although exciting, I never practised storm chasing. Potentially placing yourself and others in harm's way did not make sense to me. Life and health are too important and precarious to be jeopardized for a thrill. As a severe weather meteorologist, I much preferred to study severe storms via satellite and radar data, protected by hundreds, if not thousands, of kilometres. That data and science would then allow us to communicate what actions might be taken in the interest of safety and security. 

Every thunderstorm is potentially life-threatening. Lightning strikes occur 44 to 100 times every second. Globally, lightning claims an estimated 6,000 to 24,000 lives each year. The United States averages 20 lightning deaths per year, but with much higher lightning injuries, perhaps totalling 300. Canada typically records around 10 or fewer deaths annually. Golfers are lightning-prone! Lightning can easily hit a 9 iron!

Lightning requires cloud-top temperatures colder than -20°C - something readily determined from satellite imagery. Supercooled water droplets, carried by strong updrafts, collide with ice crystals and graupel (soft hail), driving static charge separation that transports positive charge to higher levels within the cumulonimbus. Lightning activity increases sharply when cloud-top temperatures fall below -55°C!

The following graphic from the Encyclopedia Britannica is a great basic summary. Note that "heat lightning" does not exist. The associated flash witnessed is just too far away to be heard - typically beyond 20 kilometres. Atmospheric temperature lapse rates, with temperatures warmer near the ground, bend sound waves away from the Earth's surface. The speed of sound in air varies directly with temperature.

The sound of thunder also varies according to the orientation of the observer to the flash. If the strike is oriented perpendicular to you, expect to hear a short, loud crack. If the flash is parallel to your line of sight, a long, drawn-out rumble is heard. 

30-30 Rule

• If you see lightning and count to 30 before hearing thunder, the storm is within 10 kilometres. Go inside.
• Wait time: Stay inside for at least 30 minutes after the last thunder before going back out.
• Lightning can strike up to 16 kilometres from the rain. Blue sky overhead does not mean safe.

I loved giving weather presentations... but not as much as painting. The above material is included for those interested in the weather. My PowerPoint presentations included countless images, animations and sound effects to drive the message home. I certainly got carried away then, but also now with the story behind #3026 "Island Queen at Harold's Rock". But safety comes from awareness and knowledge. Perhaps this information will do some good when you least suspect it.

The thunderstorm behind the Island Queen was on the verge of producing lightning. The 30,000 Island Cruise Lines that built the Island Queen is a third-generation, family-run, Canadian business for over 50 years - starting in 1972. 

The Island Queen provides an exceptional sightseeing experience among Georgian Bay's 30,000 Islands. Georgian Bay. The 30,000 Islands of Georgian Bay are the largest concentration of freshwater islands in the world. The area, appropriately awarded World Biosphere Reserve status from the United Nations, is a worthy destination, especially for artists. Tom Thomson and some of his artist friends who would form the Group of Seven in 1920 spent some time there in 1914. 

Just a few of the steps required to turn the inspiration into oils follow in the collage ... 

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