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| #3032 "Killbear Lighthouse Smoky Sunrise" 11 X 14 (inches) oils on canvas. Started at 10:30 am Saturday, July 25th, 2026 |
My friend Cam was cruising at sunrise on Friday, July 24th, 2026. 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. It would be impossible to paint those scenes on location as well. The water would be much too deep for my field easel.
This inspiration is from 6:27 am in front of Lighthouse Point, Killbear. The sunrise occurred about a half hour before at 5:55 am EDT and at an angle of 60° toward the northeast. I would have loved to be there in person with nothing between my eyes and the sunrise light. It is easier to just stay home.
The city of Parry Sound was just 10 kilometres to the east as the bird flies or the canoe paddles. By road, the distance to the city was 40 kilometres away via ON-559 E and Highway 400. I prefer the paddle approach to the "Big Smoke".
Smoke from wildfires in the Rockies and the Boreal forest was casting an unrealistic and ominous hue on the sunrise light. Wildfires were burning all across North America and, in fact, the world. That should come as no surprise. Meteorologists and climatologists have been sounding that alarm for decades. The following summarizes the situation while I painted at the Studio easel that my Dad made. 
Canada, and especially the higher latitudes, are warming than the global average. The polar regions are heating up at 4 times the global rate for solid, scientific reasons.
As a direct result, Canada's forests are drying out rapidly. The rising temperature has a direct impact on this dehydration. A one-degree Celsius increase in air temperature increases the atmospheric water-holding capacity by about 7%. Deep organic soil layers are added to the dried surface litter to become flammable fuel, easily ignited by frequent lightning strikes. The amount of fuel for wildfires escalates with the heat.
Climate warming has also reduced the winter snowpacks and led to hotter summers, encouraging insect infestations. The resulting severe environmental stress weakens trees, triggers widespread diebacks, and fuels massive, fast-spreading wildfires across the boreal landscape. Pyrogenetic tornadoes, sometimes referred to as “fire whirls”, “fire devils”, or “firenadoes”, are now common.
Damaged and burned forests shift from absorbing carbon to releasing massive amounts into the atmosphere. One of many tipping points that need immediate attention for the health of the planet.
If you wish to learn more and even be entertained at the same time, I highly recommend John Vaillant's book "Fire Weather". It is a textbook on the science and sociological aspects of climate change disguised as an action tale about the Fort McMurray wildfire in the middle of the Alberta oilsands.
Wildfires are not just a North American concern but are happening around the Globe. Europe is on fire as well! Visit https://firemap.live/ for more details, including the dire news in the southern hemisphere. Australia typically suffers greatly increased bushfires during El Niño years. This does not bode well given the current "Super" El Niño, which will impact the Earth for the next year or two. 2027 will be the warmest year on record when all of the observations have been tallied.
The planet has leaped across the "OnePointFive-Celsius" climate line in the sand. To refresh our memory, a global temperature increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius above the 1850s pre-industrial levels was set by the Paris Agreement of November 2016 as a critical defence limit required to prevent the worst effects of global climate change. Warming in excess of 1.5 degrees Celsius would trigger severe heatwaves, major sea-level rises, widespread ecosystem losses and more. Sounds like the world news from today... and tomorrow.
That critical 1.5 degrees Celsius limit was jumped like a wildfire, ignoring the nonflammable material gap, meant as a firebreak intended to stop the progress of the flames. Humans have propelled the Earth full steam ahead in the Petrocene.
If you only have time to read 25 pages, try Chapter 20 of John Vaillant's book "Fire Weather". These few pages summarize the science, corporate greed and pitiful, pandering politicians seeking ever more profit and power.'
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,
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