#2747 "February Dock Chairs at Jim Day Rapids"

#2747 "February Dock Chairs at Jim Day Rapids"
8x10 inches oils on canvas

After the showers tapered off, I headed outside hoping to see some interesting cloud formations. The sky was virtually clear with the next band of cloud barely on the horizon. I decided to paint the Muskoka chairs as Plan B under the bluebird skies. 

These chairs are really very comfortable. I have made several similar similar chairs out of cedar but these will never give you any splinters and are quite indestructible. These are genetically crossed between the Muskoka and Adirondack chair designs. The Adirondack chair has a flat yoke slatted back. The Muskoka has a slightly curved yoke as do these.  Adirondack chairs are built about two inches taller than the Muskoka and have wider armrests like these we enjoy at Singleton.

We keep these very heavy, recycled plastic chairs on our floating dock all year round. The melting snow told the story of some science and the shapes were interesting. My field easel blew over three times until I got out my boat anchor. If the easel blew over a fourth time, I would have much larger problems than painting. The next band of cloud arrived quicker than I had anticipated and changed the lighting of the entire scene. Such are the joys of plein air painting. I typically stick with my first colour scheme and composition. Chasing the light can be an exercise of frustration. Nothing travels faster than light unless it is very warped... 

Painting outside empowers the artist. There is no need to compete with nature or the camera - simply embrace what you see and feel. I try to use the biggest brush I can for the subject matter. I do not wear my reading glasses outside as I do not wish to see any details - they are unnecessary. 

I had enjoyed some successes en plein air in February and I was hoping for a repeat performance. The wind was a challenge. I tried to focus on the simple shapes and colours while making the scene come alive. My goal was to invoke some wonderful memories of time spent at a lake... 

The cold frontal rain arrived an hour after I finished. Plein air artistry benefits from a knowledge of the weather and knowing how to read the sky - even if you are bound to make miscalculations otherwise referred to as mistakes. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2746 "Marble Sentinel to Long Reach"

#2746 "Marble Sentinel to Long Reach"
8x10 inches oils on canvas 

A mild February afternoon encouraged me to paint with the winter sun warming my back. I moved inland from the Singleton shoreline where I had painted during the morning. 

A winter rain storm would arrive early the following morning. I wished to take advantage of the warmer southerly flow associated with the conveyor belt of the storm while the plein air conditions were so favourable. There were absolutely no biting bugs. Winter weather may not be as dramatic as summer convection but the impacts can be much more severe. I watch the sky very closely.

Long Reach Lane forks just before you reach this monolithic outcrop of marble. The huge hunk of rock guards the properties that line Long Reach. This rocky face is an interesting feature of Long Reach Lane. The other branch of the forked lane heads southeasterly and to the Singleton Sanctuary. 

I stood on the edge of the lane out of the way just in case any vehicle should chance along. There was no one except me and the winter birds. We all stood and kept watch just like the marble ledge. 

My goal was to document the lengthening shadows. The lines cast by the trees near the original Homestead log barn and shed crawled across the snow and gravel lane to climb up the rock face. The shadows then snaked along the top of the marble ridge and back into the forest. The colours of the rock and the various stages of snow and ice were also very interesting. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2745 "Valentines Day at Jim Day Rapids"

#2745 "Valentine's Day at Jim Day Rapids"
8x10 oils on canvas

I headed out to Jim Day Rapids to be certain of having the February sun on my back. That location would also be protected from the southwesterly breeze that was certain to develop as the ridge of high pressure moved further to the east. 

A pair of healthy-looking coyotes had crossed that point just an hour before. The warm sun felt delicious on my back while I painted. I wanted to paint something loose with more oils and less detail. With my new hearing aids, I could hear things that I probably had not heard for years. The birds were singing of spring. I could even hear the ice melt. 

There is much to love and protect within the Singleton Sanctuary, especially on Valentine's Day. Who needs chocolate? 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2744 "February Morning at Jim Day Rapids"

#2744 "February Morning at Jim Day Rapids"
11x14 oils on canvas

It was a beautiful day for mid February. It was also unseasonably warm. I decided to paint something outside. If I stood near the home somewhere, it would discourage the dozens of squirrels that had discovered that we also feed the birds. 

I decided to stand on the rocky lake shore at the entrance to Jim Day Rapids. It was a signature characteristic view of the area and would be a challenge to capture cleanly in oils. The sun felt warm for February 12th. 

There are several, characteristic moments to be enjoyed in most plein air painting adventures. I often feel really excited at the start when laying in the big shapes and range of tones. Uncertainties arise soon after when I question whether I can pull the shapes all together without getting into the busy details. The important decision is to stop before too many brush strokes can mess up the edges and turn the oils into mud. My goal is to be truthful in recording the feeling of the place without being a camera.. Sometimes in the middle, I typically wonder what I am doing. But the art has to speak if it wants to reach out to others  and for that to happen, I also must have something to say. 

A chickadee landed on the painting while I worked but I was too slow to get an image of that. The otter was poking through the ice almost anywhere it wanted making me think that the white surface was more like Swiss cheese than solid ice. Trumpeter swans were sleeping on the ice. The birds were also singing like it was spring - and I could hear them with my new hearing aids. Life is good.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2743 "Black Rat Maple"

#2743 "Black Rat Maple"
14x11 inches oils on canvas

I needed to step away from #2742 "Snowbirds". I was in danger of overworking the forty-nine buntings and a plein air distraction was exactly what I needed. 

February 11th, 2023

I headed out to Jim Day Rapids to be certain of having the February sun on my back. That location would also be protected from the southwesterly breeze that was certain to develop as the ridge of high pressure moved further to the east. I had not painted the stump of this very old maple yet and that day of reckoning had arrived. The top of that maple had been blown off one summer afternoon while we watched a severe thunderstorm cross the lake. I had left the rotting stump as a refuge for whatever needed it. That tall maple had been a favourite of the resident black rat snakes and I had often seen them climbing up and down the rough bark. 

Black rat snake climbing down
the ancient maple trunk

Six trumpeter swans had landed in while I painted but I did not notice them until after I was done. Happily, I was in the artistic zone. There is no busy detail in my plein air work as I do not wear my glasses while doing so. It means I do not need to squint my eyes as hard or as often to discern the important shapes, tones and colours. 

This ancient and rotting stump, black rat snakes and pretty much everything else are protected within the Singleton Sanctuary. 

Paints with snakes. They are harmless and shy

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2742 "Snowbirds"

#2742 "Snowbirds" 12x36 inches oils on canvas

A considerable number of winter hours were spent happily at the easel on this painting. Each of the snow buntings is a distinct individual and I wished to keep them that way. I often got confused about which bird I was working on at the time. There are forty-nine snowbirds in this painting with some wrapping around the edge. 

Some of the In Progress Images

This painting was inspired by a flock of snowbirds who came to enjoy Christmas Day 2022 at Singleton during some very severe winter weather. The busy little buntings were happy to forage for seeds under the red cedar where we also feed the turkeys and other birds during the coldest part of winter. I also referred to a photograph (with permission) taken by naturalist, photographer and friend, John Verburg. 

If you are into numerology, you will know that 49 is a powerful number referred to as the "Angel Number". It signifies change, new beginnings, inner strength, and growth. These goals all sounded good to me so I made certain that I included fifty minus one pairs of wings in this painting. If you are experiencing a time of upheaval, change in your life, or bad luck, the good news is it is likely that the number 49 is working its magic in your life in various ways for a higher purpose. I had to use PowerPoint to accurately count the birds so I would not make a mistake. To be honest, forty-nine is just another number to me much like a birthday. It is more important what you do with your days even though for sure, all of our days are certainly numbered. 

My ultimate goal with this and every fresh piece of canvas is to achieve a "Blowing in the Wind", "Four Strong Winds" or "If You Could Read My Mind" kind of achievement in brush strokes on canvas instead of in song. Ian Tyson and Gordon Lightfoot are inspirational Canadians who knocked a few strokes of genius out of the park. Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and other artists are quite terrific as well. The reward for the artist might only be the respect from peers who understand what it takes to launch a creation into a higher orbit. Respect is everything and often difficult to achieve. Sadly, Ian Tyson passed away while I was working on "Snowbirds". 

I started this painting on Friday, February 3rd, 2023 under sunny skies but outside, the temperatures were near minus 25 Celsius with significant winds after an authentic Arctic cold front. Wind Chill Warnings were in effect so I was in the Singleton Sanctuary Studio in front of the Pacific Energy wood stove and listening to tunes that included the music of the above artists as well as many others. There is a tremendous amount of oil on this canvas giving the surface an almost three-dimensional relief. Life is good. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2741 "My Little Chickadee"

This is a wonderfully enchanting image from my friend John Verburg with permission. The tiny bird was perched on a corn stalk. I decided to paint a sunflower seed clutched at the edge of its right talon. The chickadees love sunflower seeds. I painted the eye first. The likeness is made or lost in that small orb. 

When I was painting, I thought of the famous saying by W. C. Fields: "My Little Chickadee " and that is where the title originated. My Little Chickadee was a 1940 American comedy-western film starring Mae West and W. C. Fields. 

Birds are once again beginning to sing! They are hormonally triggered by the increase in photoperiod (the period of time in which an animal receives daylight during a 24-hour period). House Finch, Black-capped Chickadee, nuthatches, Northern Cardinal and more can be heard singing on the day I painted this "in the dead of winter." It was actually Ground Hog Day. 

The black-capped chickadee is a small, non-migratory, North American songbird that lives in deciduous and mixed forests. It is the provincial bird of New Brunswick. These birds flock to me when I am outside as I typically carry sunflower seeds during the winter. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2740 "Singleton Sanctuary Snowy Wildlife Trails"

#2740 "Singleton Sanctuary Snowy Wildlife Trails"
10x8 by 1.5 inches Oils on Gallery-Wrapped Canvas

This was from a walk on Tuesday, January 31st, 2023 along Long Reach Lane. Aside from the typical creatures, mine were the only tracks in the fresh snow. The image is from 2:30 pm and the afternoon sun felt good on my back as I walked. 

One of my Singleton Red Fox Friends

This particular trail had been used by the red fox. I could see how its tail had swept the fresh and loose snow. The clawed footprints of a fox are distinctive and typically in a straight line. The prints of the bobcats are feline and show no claws. 

I wanted to work on something loose after the detail and exactness required for the covey of bird paintings. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

#2739 "Loons Next Generation"

#2739 "Loons Next Generation"
Oils on 11x14 by 1.5 inch Gallery Wrapped Canvas

I was just in the process of getting the loon platform ready for the 2023 nesting season. In addition, I was also constructing support for proper signage to encourage people to respect the nesting loon and resist their innate curiosity.

Loon Sign Almost Ready to Launch
after I fix the leak in the tire

I dislike signs. Signs can encourage more curiosity and even entice people to investigate too close to the very private nesting loon. Other options for deterrents were suggested but I do not even like raising my voice at people... loon monitor cameras and even a sniper rifle were mentioned...

Sadly, the loon nest was abandoned in 2022 as a result of curious kayakers surrounding the platform. That was the first time since 2006 that the loons were harassed enough to leave the nest. I do not even paddle anywhere near them when I venture out. The loon chicks are entirely dependent on their parents for the first few weeks. As painted, the young chicks often ride around on their parent’s backs for protection and warmth.

The loons make the Singleton Sanctuary feel more like "Golden Pond". We have grown into the roles of Hepburn and Fonda very well. Simultaneously, we have become more knowledgeable about the biology and nature of loons. We watch and monitor their every move and even understand the loon vocabulary. It is like losing a member of the family when an egg fails to hatch. The abandoned nest of 2022 was a catastrophe. 

Strangely, the loons are more frightened of paddles than small fishing boats. The Singleton loons really know my friend, naturalist and photographer John Verburg who took the image I used as a reference. In his own words, "I spent a bit of time with the loons again this morning. At one point they were 10 feet from the boat and seemed very content." Together with John, we do our very best to assist the loons to raise at least one chick through the summer months and into freeze-up. 

Inside the Singleton Studio

I thought it would be good to remember and paint an image of loon chicks from a previous and successful nesting year in 2021. I was working from an image taken by John Verburg with his permission. John has many images of the Singleton loons. I set the gallery-wrapped canvas up on my field easel and stood while I painted. 

I also used my swivel mount so that I could more easily paint the edges of the gallery-mounted canvas. While in the Studio, I have my subject on a large-screen TV and pretend I am outside. I am pretty gullible :>))

Swivel mount for painting the gallery-wrapped canvas 

The title of this painting is obvious from the point of view of maintaining the species but it is also based on the Star Trek series. I only watched a very few episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" but I recall thinking that the lights in the hull of the stream-lined spacecraft were very much like the white highlights on the sleek body of the loon. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick