#2016 "Kingston Marina Slips"

This was the first afternoon of the Paint the Town Kingston in association with the International Plein Air Painters World Wide Paint Out. After completing #2015 "The Kingston Marina on the Inner Harbour" I decided to do some brief shopping to avoid the band of heavy rain showers that were due almost any time. After the showers I returned to the Cataraqui River and decided to paint at the boat ramp ($10 per each use) and paint the craft immediately to the southeast. This time I would be right up and in front of my subject matter instead of painting from a kilometre away.

I started out painting on the floating dock but that was a bad idea. Not that I want to paint detail while en plein air but the subtle and continuous motion was disturbing if not prone to creating sea sickness. I worked my way in stages toward the shore end of the dock but finally had to retreat to solid ground.

As I painted, the Snow Birds roared into my landscape. I was unaware that an air show with the Snow Birds and the CF Demo jet would be practicing on Friday and delivering a full performance both on Saturday and Sunday. My plein air easel had a front row seat. The Friday air show practice was cut short when the Snowbirds spotted a drone flying about 200 feet off the ground near the Murney Tower on King Street, across from Kingston Health Sciences Centre. An OPP marine unit tracked the drone, which eventually left the restricted airspace before the CF-18's practice session began. The air force's precision flying team and the CF-18 demonstration aircraft made several passes over the city ahead of this weekend's CFB Kingston family fun fest air show.

The Kingston Marina operates 105 slips. Vessels up to 200 feet. Depth of slips 10ft. Seasonal and transient slips. 15/30 amp shore power. Free wireless internet near the office. Transient reservations suggested. If you are coming to see us, please don't confuse Kingston Marina with Confederation Basin. Kingston Marina is on the Inner Harbour, North of the Lasalle Causeway.

#2015 "The Kingston Marina on the Inner Harbour"

This was the first day of the Paint the Town Kingston in association with the International Plein Air Painters World Wide Paint Out. I went to the point at the southeast corner of the Old Woolen Mill Property. There was still a chilly northwest wind and this location offered some shelter. Duck families paddled by looking for hand-outs. They were used to being fed. After completing #2014 "Morning on the Kingston Causeway" I simply turned my gaze more to the south.

This view is toward the Kingston Marina on the Inner Harbour just north of the Lasalle Causeway. Kingston Marina is often confused with the Confederation Basin Marina which is south of the Wolfe Island Ferry docks. From a distance one can only make out jabs of colour and a minimal shape for each of the boats moored to the three main slips on the outer perimeter of the Kingston Marina. Essentially this is another skyscape in disguise as a landscape. The convective clouds were continuing to boil upward. It was only a matter of time before cold air mass showers poured down.

The air mass was unstable and the developing towering cumulus were just about to arrive from the northwest. The cold rain would be refreshing but I had some shopping to do so I took a break until after they had passed. I did not get wet but I know some artists got soaked. It is important to keep an eye on the sky as well as the painting.

#2014 "Morning on the Kingston Causeway"

This was the first day of the Paint the Town Kingston in association with the International Plein Air Painters World Wide Paint Out. The weather was exceptional with a ridge of high pressure approaching in the wake of the cold front.

I went to the point at the southeast corner of the Old Woolen Mill Property. There was still a chilly northwest wind and this location offered some shelter. Duck families paddled by looking for hand-outs. They were used to being fed.

The view to the southeast toward the La Salle Causeway was interesting but essentially this is a skyscape. I was using paint that had been on the palette for three weeks so it had a lot of texture. From a cable ferry in the early 1800's, to the Penny Bridge in 1826, to the La Salle Causeway (built in 1916/17), Kingstonians have always been travelling between downtown Kingston and the former Pittsburg Township.

The first attempt at transportation across the river was a cable-operated scow type of ferry that began operating in 1786. Two rowboats were often available for use as well. In 1826 the Cataraqui Bridge Company was formed to build a wooden bridge "1800 feet long by 25 feet wide and built on stone piers". The Cataraqui Bridge was opened in 1829. Tolls were collected from a toll booth on the west end of the bridge, and since pedestrians were charged a penny, the bridge was popularly known as the "Penny Bridge". A draw bridge allowed larger vessels to pass through. The draw bridge was eventually replaced by an easier-to-operate swing bridge.

In 1917, the Penny Bridge was replaced by the causeway which included three bridges: two bridges at each end of the causeway, and the centre lift bridge. Of these, only the original centre lift bridge remains; the steel bridges at the east and west ends of the causeway were replaced with concrete bridges in 1962 and 1993 respectively.

The air mass was unstable and I could see towering cumulus develop to the northwest just as I was finishing this view to the south east.

#2013 "Arrowhead Morning Sea Smoke"

After completing #2012 "Arrowhead Sunrise Sea Smoke and Altocumulus", I turned my easel a bit more to the southeast. The sun was just clearing the distant forest. The Arctic sea smoke was still boiling off the warm waters of Arrowhead Lake. The wolves were still giving the occasional howl as well. A few people were starting to stroll along the beach. It was time for me to pack up and head to Bonnechere Provincial Park.
This really is not an abstract painting. The nature of Arctic sea smoke is one of turbulent thermals rising convectively off the warm waters of the lake. Some spiralling columns developed and this maybe got 20 metres tall. The inrush of air to replace the rising thermal and a slight wind shift is all that you need for these rotating vortices. The vortex tube can be stretched vertically with the more vigourous updrafts. Like a figure skater pulling in their extremities these stretched portions of the tubes rotate faster in order to conserve angular momentum. Sea smoke is also called frost smoke or even steam fog. The backlit fog was strongly illuminated by the rising sun. The thicker portions of the fog were dark while the more wispy and tenuous tendrils were on fire. The scene changed by the second but I was happy to capture the impression of it all.

#2012 "Arrowhead Sunrise Sea Smoke and Altocumulus

I was up early at Arrowhead to catch the morning light. The cold Arctic air had really arrived in the wake of Wednesday's cold front. The temperature was only plus 3 Celsius. It was a bit chilly in the tent. The high strands of cirrus were brilliantly illuminated by the rising sun. Dark and backlit turbulent stratocumulus were billowing over the ridges in the strong northerly flow. I knew I had to get out of the wind in order to paint so I set up on the sand beach in the lee of the forest. It was cold enough to see my breadth. Arctic sea smoke was boiling off the warm waters of Arrowhead Lake. My hands did get cold and that prompted me to work quickly. Pine seeds were blowing in the winds and getting mixed into the oils where I left them. They added texture to the paint on this very smooth panel. This is not an abstract work. I painted what was there and what I saw.

This view is looking eastward to the bay on the southeast flank of Arrowhead Lake. Canada geese landed in and wanted to take over the beach. A pack of wolves were howling on the far shore. I had heard them howl during the night and they were still active. They were not very far away. A beaver swam by just 30 feet away and did not pay any attention to me. I kept expecting it to slap its tail and the intruder but it never did. A couple of commarants were also actively fishing.

The sun was not above the horizon so I could do this painting looking into the light. When the sun cleared the hill the wildlife all went to bed and everything was quiet again.

#2011 "Algonquin Rock Lake Eastern Ridges"

After completing #2010 "Algonquin Rock Lake Sunrise" I turned my easel back to look upon the dark and cliffed eastern shore of Rock Lake. The sun was just clearing the forested slope but not enough that I was blinded by the light. There were some stabs of colour on the shore. The black ducks were still around as well as the hunting party of common mergansers. I was not alone.

This small and very rough panel posed some challenges but nothing a bit more paint couldn't solve.

#2010 "Algonquin Rock Lake Sunrise"

After completing #2009 "Algonquin Rock Lake Turbulent Sunrise" I selected a view looking more southward across Rock Lake. I liked the shape of the turbulent stratocumulus and the colours of the sunrise sky. Some bright cumulus were billowing upward on the southern horizon. I included the Arctic Sea Smoke on the southern shore of Rock Lake.

The shapes of the clouds tell the story of the associated wind. There was some wind shear generating a lot of kelvin helmholtz instability. That wind profile was certainly everywhere over the lake but there was only one small strand of moisture to reveal it. If you imagine tubes of rotating fluid caused by wind increasing with height, the wind shear creates those rotation and the cloud shapes that reveal them. I some ways kelvin helmholtz instability resulting from wind shear looks like a pencil being rolled across a table top. The is also one distinctive curl in the leading edge of the turbulent stratocumulus. The clouds always have a story to tell.

#2009 "Algonquin Rock Lake Turbulent Sunrise"

I quietly got up from my shoreline campsite at Camp B on Rock Lake. I parked at the trail head for Booth's Rock Trail. The cold front that had brought the heavy rain just as the presentation had ended the previous evening, had also brought in much colder air. The temperature was only plus 4 Celsius which explains why I was a bit chilly overnight. There was an excellent attendance at the "Art and Science of Tom Thomson" presentation and some of my good patrons and friends even came.

The first strong cold advection of late summer can really change the landscape. The autumn colours were even starting to show through the green of the trees. Arctic sea smoke was boiling off the warm waters of Rock Lake. Turbulent stratocumulus clouds were billowing over the ridges in the strong northerly flow. I knew I had to get out of the wind in order to paint so I set up on the sand beach to the lee of the ridge. It was cold enough to see my breadth. My hands did get cold and that prompted me to work quickly. Pine seeds were blowing in the winds and getting mixed into the oils where I left them. They added texture to the paint. This view is looking southeastward to the eastern shore and high ridges of Rock Lake.

I listened to some wolves howling just as the sun was coming over the ridge. The barred owls were also still vocal.

A family of pure bred black ducks and some common mergansers kept me company. Apparently a population of mallards were cut-off around Algonquin during the last ice age. These "mallards" lived in forests and evolved into the black duck we know now. With the receding of the last ice age, mallards are now inter-breeding with these black ducks. Pure bred blacks like I witnessed are getting fewer and more difficult to find.

When I got back to the campsite all of the campers were in their winter coats and wearing togues. I was still dressed for summer.

#2008 "Killbear Flagged Tree Point"

After completing #2007 "Killbear Scott Island", I simply turned to look southeastward toward "The Tree". There was a concrete boat ramp on the eastern flank of these beaches and this is where I parked. I painted in the shade of a flagged white pine. There were a few cumulus clouds as the convective temperature for the day had been reached. The main story was frontal cloud on the southern horizon. These clouds provided the backdrop for the characteristically flagged trees on the exposed granite point. This point is also where I saw the rather large fox snake.

The flagged Tree is quite possibly the most photographed individual tree in Canada if not the world. I will paint that tree someday but not today.

I was still chuckling about Tom Thomson arriving to do the special guest presentation at the Killbear Amphitheatre. I scratched my signature into the thick wet paint on the smooth and slippery panel.