#3028 "Snug Harbour Sky Castles"

#3028 "Snug Harbour Sky Castles"
20 X 24 inches, oils on canvas.
Started at 9:30 am Saturday, July 11th, 2026

My friend Cam was prowling around the many beautiful locations on Georgian Bay. Cam always has an eye out for subjects that might be inspirational. Cam knows exactly what motivates my art. Windswept trees bend over rugged, pink-hued rocks along a shoreline, reflected in the water below, with lots of clouds in the sky.  

In this case, every element is interesting. Cam had me with the developing thunderstorms. I could not resist. The meteorology along the lake breeze front is always dynamic. The lake breeze convergence zone was one of my favourite and very dynamic forecast tools. 

Cumulonimbus clouds were developing on that convergence line, making this a skyscape rather than a lighthouse painting. The towers were twisting and tilting inland as they developed. The pines were heavily flagged by the prevailing, onshore southwesterly winds. 

The goals on this canvas were to loosen up my brushwork and to make those convective cells three-dimensional as they billowed out of the canvas toward the observer. The convective towers reminded me of castles in the sky. 

The Georgian Bay Snug Harbour is historic! It is a beautiful waterfront enclave about 20 km west of Parry Sound. It is renowned for its weathered boathouses, the historic Snug Harbour Rear Range Lighthouse, and ideal access to the 30,000 Islands of the world's largest freshwater archipelago. 

Built in 1893, the Snug Harbour Rear Range Lighthouse is a one-and-a-half-storey dwelling with a tapered tower rising from the centre of its roof. It became operational within a year, in 1894. Located at the southern tip of Snug Island and directly west of Snug Harbour in Georgian Bay, the lighthouse is ideally situated to direct marine traffic into Snug Harbour or onto Parry Sound. The combined dwelling and tower achieve a height of 14 metres (45 feet) from base to vane. The Snug Harbour Front Range Lighthouse is located on Walton Island just to the west. Three related buildings on the site contribute to the heritage character of the lighthouse: the boathouse (1920), the generator building (1920), and the storage shed (circa 1960). 

The oval inset includes the details of the heritage structures in the painting. 

I have interpreted Snug Harbour before in #2311 "Snug Harbour Range Rear Lighthouse", #2312 "Snug Harbour", #2316 "Outbound from Snug Harbour", #2556 "Snug Island Canoe Channel" and perhaps more where "Snug" does not appear in the title. Tom Thomson and some artist friends who would form the Group of Seven in May 1920 painted in the area around 1914.

The following summarizes some of the steps taken in #3028 "Snug Harbour Sky Castles". There was a lot of energy in the atmosphere. I wanted that vitality to come through in the brushwork. 

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