#2620 "Snow Coming February Sunset"

#2620 "Snow Coming February Sunset" 10x10 inches

The cold front straddling the lower Great Lakes had a little wave of low pressure rippling along it. The weather with the low would not amount to much since a large ridge of high pressure was dominating the pattern. 

There was still a taste of light snow in the air. The backlit altocumulus clouds also revealed some gravity waves which were probably associated with the cold frontal surface. I saw this sky as quite a challenge to depict in oils. 

This skyscape is composed so that the subtle vertical lines in the foreground trees lead upward into the sky. The diagonal elements lead your eye further up but the clouds lines stay on the canvas and are supposed to return your gaze back into the clouds where hopefully you might get lost in a dream.

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#2619 "Sunset on February Cold"

#2619 "Sunset on February Cold" 10x10 inches

The surface winds are typically stronger with cold air advection as the coldest air sinks to the lowest levels. These stronger surface winds drift the virga well ahead of the cumulus cloud producing the ice crystals and small snow flakes in the first place. I painted these virga shafts as they reminded me of the jelly fish like tendrils that people often use to describe virga. The backlit trails of ice crystals would be a challenge to interpret in oils while still keeping the art loose and painterly. 

Visible Satellite Image

These streets of cold, turbulent stratocumulus were originating off Georgian Bay aligned with the blustery northwesterly winds. I believe that these streets of cloud are formed from the same processes that create Langmuir streaks in the ocean. Friction and instability in the Ekmann spiral produce vertical shear and a resulting circulation that penetrates throughout the mixed planetary boundary layer. This process can create oceanic Langmuir streaks in just 30 minutes of forcing. It takes an hour or more of forcing by the wind to really establish atmospheric Langmuir cloud streets. The cold air was still dominating the weather pattern. 

Atmospheric Langmuir cloud streets

The fact that eastern North America experiences colder winter weather while the Globe is undergoing rapid and dramatic warming, perplexes many people. The two facts are actually quite consistent and compatible. I have been writing about the science of winds in my Art and Science Bog. 

Globally, February 2022 was the sixth warmest February on record. The extreme heat over Russia, Siberia and the North Pole are striking. The temperature anomaly map for North America reveals the persistent cold trough over eastern North America while the warm ridge of high pressure dominates the dry Rockies. That cold trough will deliver moisture and protect eastern Ontario from the serious impacts of Global warming for a while - but be assured, the climate is changing faster than we ever thought possible. The laws of science and nature are irrefutable. 

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#2618 "Flurry of Saturday Afternoon Activity"

#2618 "Flurry of Saturday Afternoon Activity"
10x10 inches

Snow flurries in the southwesterly flow off Lake Ontario produced some dramatic lighting as the sun broke through the cumulus. Singleton was still very much in the winter season with lots of snow and wind. 

A cold frontal snowquall warning was issued as I was painting. "A brief snow squall will move across from the northwest. Hazards: Heavy snow at times. Snowfall rates of 2 to 4 cm per hour are possible, for a brief period. Sudden reduction in visibility due to heavy snow and blowing snow." The visibility did drop to almost nothing for an hour just after 1 pm with the cold frontal passage. It was very pleasant in front of the fire with my oils and easel. 

The past winter was characterized by the La Niña phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). This should be no surprise given how many Alberta Clippers had raced across the Prairies and the Great Lakes Basin. From my vantage in eastern Ontario, it was a refreshingly typical winter full of cold, snow, ice and wind. You might be surprised to appreciate that our winter was shaped by what happens over the Pacific. The equatorial sea surface temperatures were below average across the eastern Pacific Ocean and the odds are 53% that this pattern will continue into the Northern Hemisphere summer but that is another story. 

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#2617 "Sunset on the 25th"

#2617 "Sunset on the 25th" 12x24 inches

It was only ten months until Christmas Day as we watched the sunset at 5:45 pm on Friday the 25th day of February, 2022. It was sunny and bright but minus 18 Celsius outside with a stiff northwesterly breeze. The parallel and regularly spaced streets of turbulent stratocumulus revealed that boundary layer wind in the sunset sky. The science of Langmuir streaks can be well applied to those lines. Those clouds would dissolve with the sun and Boxing Day would be sunny and cold as well which explained why I was in the Singleton Studio in from of the wood stove recording these thoughts and memories in oil. 

The light is a big part of art. The different surface types reflected the sunset light in very different ways. The calm and open waters of Jim Day Rapids mirrored that light to our eyes. The snow and ice were not nearly as good reflectors of those colours 

As I painted, Bruce Cockburn's song "Goin Down Slow" came through my music library. I reflected on the many truths in the lyrics and how they were equally applicable today with Russia invading the Ukraine. Multiple elections were gearing up within Canada as well with politicians popping up with pre-election money while COVID started to  et really ramped up again. Whether it be greed or the lust for power, Bruce summed it up that "mighty tongues tell mighty lies". Bruce is a tremendous artist and from his music and lyrics, an excellent example of what a Canadian might be. 

I would try to remain hunkered down in my Sanctuary surrounded by nature... painting. 

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#2616 "Singleton Thoughtful Sunset"

#2616 "Singleton Thoughtful Sunset"
11x14 inches

The sunset from 5:55 pm Sunday February 6th, 2022 was special and very dramatic. The winter was progressing beautifully. It was a real Canadian winter in the cold trough of climate change. There was a lot of snow and wind. This sunset gave me some quiet time to really think. Please let me explain. 

Extreme global warming is very real and far from uniform. Some places are actually cooler in specific seasons - at least for a while. This is the case for eastern Ontario. Conservation of angular momentum and the Rockies collaborate to create a large and durable trough of low pressure over eastern Canada -  especially in the winter. This pattern is also more common all year long and is the reason we retired in eastern Ontario and not on the west coast like many of my former colleagues. Eastern Ontario will benefit from cooler temperatures and precipitation while the west coast will get hot and generally drier under the upper ridge. The increasing temperatures allow more water vapour to be held in the atmosphere. This heat and moisture are fuel for more severe and dynamic storms. 

British Columbia, Fall 2021

Atmospheric rivers which I wrote about for COMET in a 2009 educational module, is one example of a water vapour plume that can be locked in on relatively small geographical areas. The weather is nature's way to try to maintain a balance of heat, cold, moisture and even electrical charge around the globe. These atmospheric rivers can change a drought into a flood in the matter of hours as was witnessed in southern British Columbia in the fall of 2021 with devastating impacts. 

February 2022 was the sixth warmest February on record. While Europe, Middle East and Russia were very warm, North America was widely cold. Canada was especially cold. 

The Southern Hemisphere had weaker anomalies compared to the Northern Hemisphere. Cool Australia stands out and warm central south America. A very noteworthy record low Antarctic sea ice extent was set. The Arctic and Russia really stand out as the hotpots. Some places average more than 7°C warmer than the 1981-2010 average. 

These images are courtesy of my friend Scott Duncan, a talented, professional meteorologist who does terrific work communicating weather and climate through these engaging graphics. 

This Singleton sunset gave me much to ponder... 

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#2615 "Singleton Sap Running"

#2615 "Singleton Sap Running"
14x18 inches

This is the third in the maple syrup trilogy and there are actually three taps in this painting. I replaced the double tap on the large and old sugar maple to the right with a single, traditional, metal pail tap. That is artistic licence and I am OK with that. The five gallon plastic pails used on most of the trees that were double tapped do not have the nostalgia of the old pails. 

I liked how the shadows of one tree climbed up the trunk of others. I was also very interested in the colours and textures of the old sap pails. They have been used for many years and the numerous dents tell those stories. 

The freezing rain from the previous day and night had left a thick coat of ice on everything. Strong westerly winds with cold advection convinced me that another Singleton Sanctuary Studio day would be nice. It was a great day to stay home (like everyday) and paint in front of the wood stove. 

My good friend Dr. Fred Schueler wrote a terrific and scholarly article about the history of maple syrup making in North America. It is well worth the read at "Did Red Squirrels invent Sugaring?". Fred together with his wife Aleta Karstad, a gifted artist and writer, comprise the Fragile Inheritance Natural History Group. Their efforts to educate and inform are born out boundless curiosity about the natural world. I share their views and try to encourage people and politicians to be better stewards of the earth before it is too late. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you. 

#2614 "Singleton Single Tap"

#2614 "Singleton Single Tap"
20x16 inches
Gallery Wrap 

There is only a single tap on this sugar maple tree. It was big enough for two taps but sometimes less is more. 

I recorded our footsteps in the snow around the base of the maple from when we installed the tap. I like the colours of the snow and the shadows on a bright winter day. My goal was to capture a bit of nostalgic, Canadian history. 

My good friend Dr. Fred Schueler wrote a terrific and scholarly article about the history of maple syrup making in North America. It is well worth the read at "Did Red Squirrels invent Sugaring?". Fred together with his wife Aleta Karstad, a gifted artist and writer, comprise the Fragile Inheritance Natural History Group. Their efforts to educate and inform are born out boundless curiosity about the natural world. I share their views and try to encourage people and politicians to be better stewards of the earth before it is too late. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you. 

#2613 "Singleton Maple Twin Taps"

#2613 "Singleton Maple Twin Taps"
20x16 Gallery Wrap

There is a lot of work to making maple syrup. It takes about 40 parts of sap to make one part of maple syrup. That being said, there is nothing quite as sweet as enjoying the fruits of your own, honest labours. My son wanted to tap more sugar maple trees in 2022 so that is exactly what we did. We got the taps out early in case the season was short like that in 2021. 

These are the old style taps which are still very effective. 

The small sapling beside the sugar maple is an Ironwood (Hop-Hornbeam - Hornbeam Genus - Caroliniana Species). Ironwood trees have the hardest and densest wood of any species in Canada and it burns like coal. It can be identified by the shaggy, narrow strips of bark that are said to look like fried bacon as they peel. Ironwood trees rarely grow beyond 12 metres and are fairly short-lived. That being said, there are a few huge ironwoods within the Singleton Sanctuary that must date to before Canada. Ruffed Grouse are said to eat the buds in winter. 

I would revisit these taps en plein air in #2622 "Sap Flowing at the Twin Tap". 

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#2612 "Singleton Provincially Significant Sanctuary"

#2612 "Singleton Provincially Significant Sanctuary"
12x24

The day after a big snowfall can be special. The landscape was almost monochromatic. This particular landscape overlooking the provincially significant wetland has remained unchanged ever since we bought the Singleton Sanctuary in 2006. We have added many habitat opportunities. Duck and bird houses dot the landscape in addition to the shelters for the ground nesting birds and critters. The smaller creatures and upland game birds are making a come back. 

The view is from 9 am on February 3rd, 2002 looking to the northwest. We once had coyotes kill a deer in that bay. There was no waste left behind and everything was consumed as it should be in nature. Ravens, crows, eagles and everything else shared a meal from that carcass. Coyotes and wolves can only kill the weak or ill deer and this helps to keep the rest of the herd healthy. 

The heavy brush work was intended to guide the eye of the viewer around the scene without letting them escape off the canvas. 

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