#3029 "Windswept Killbear Pine"

#3029 "Windswept Killbear Pine" 
24 X 20 inches, oils on canvas.
Started at 10:30 am Sunday, July 12th, 2026

I have painted the famous windswept white pine tree at Killbear Provincial Park before. The "flagged pine" on Sunset Point is a signature symbol of Georgian Bay.  It is highly recognizable for its unique lean, shaped by more than a century of strong, prevailing onshore westerly winds. Sometimes we all need to bend with the wind to survive. It is likely the most photographed tree in Ontario, if not Canada. I have my share of photos and paintings of that spot.

This white pine has sadly been rotting from the inside out and can no longer support its own weight. Park officials have installed braces to prop the pine in its hour of need. More importantly, this white pine has been successfully cloned by the Forest Gene Conservation Association to preserve its exact genetic line. At the moment, 30 white pine clones are being nurtured at a facility in Kemptville, Ontario, for future planting in the park.

The Anishinabek called this area Mukwa Nayosh, which translates exactly as "Bear Point". Black Bears traditionally swim from the mainland shores to nearby islands.  An 1866 township map labels the currently identified "Lighthouse Point" as "Kill Bear Point" following a highly publicized event. Apparently, a legendary tale relates that a logging crew had a fatal or dramatic interaction in which a logger killed a bear, or a bear killed a logger, at that specific point on the land. European settlers gradually morphed "Kill Bear Point" into "Killbear Point".  Hmmm... I much prefer "Bear Point". 

Painting #2288 "Parry Island Canine Cove Cabin"

I have painted near black bears in the area. They leave me alone, and I certainly do not bother them. I once got a picture of one nearby while en plein air. The young bear strolled onto the dock where I was painting and then ambled off when he saw me with my brush. 

My friend Cam provided this inspiration. He knows exactly what I like to paint when I can't get to visit Georgian Bay and paint on location. Thankfully, I know the area well and have many memories from years of exploring that shoreline. 

In late summer of 2017, I was fortunate to be on a tour of Ontario Provincial Parks presenting "Tom Thomson Was a Weatherman". Killbear Provincial Park was one of my favourite stops! 

The summer staff were terrific and very energetic, but the younger generation does not know the Tom Thomson story. Killbear staff actually thought that Tom himself was going to deliver that presentation. I tried to spread the word, but maybe it is time to just move on and accept change.

The windswept white pine is barely discernible in this skyscape composition. The star of the canvas is the tall towers of the cumulonimbus clouds sparked by the lake breeze convergence line just inland from the shore. These towers could easily produce lightning. I think the clouds are really beautiful, albeit potentially life-threatening. 

Tom Thomson and some of the members of the future Group of Seven painted in the Parry Sound area in 1914. 

The goal was to preserve the energy in those clouds and the pines within the brushstrokes on the canvas. 

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  

#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. He is always looking for inspiration for my paintings. Cam knows exactly what inspires me. Windswept trees bend over rugged, pink-hued rocks along a shoreline, reflected in the water below, with a lot of clouds in the sky.  

In this case, every element is interesting. Cam had me with the flagged trees, lighthouse and the 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 forecast tools. 

Cumulonimbus clouds were developing on that convergence line, making this a skyscape versus 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 billow 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.

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 the nearby Walton Island. There are three related buildings on the site that contribute to the heritage character of the lighthouse: the boathouse (1920), the generator building (1920), and the storage shed (circa 1960). 

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 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  

#3027 "Charlton Lake Storm Weather"

#3027 "Charlton Lake Storm Weather"
20 X 24 inches, oils on canvas.
Started at 10:30 am Tuesday, July 7th, 2026  

The heavily flagged tree on Charlton Lake, photographed by Richard McKenzie, caught my eye. A friend saw the image on a Facebook post and forwarded the link. The granite point and thunderstorm background really appealed to me. I reached out to Richard to inquire if I might use his photo for inspiration. Singleton was in the middle of an oppressive heat wave with high UV values and smoke from Boreal infernos. Any outside activity was discouraged given the Climate Crisis conditions. 

Richard responded: "Please do. I would ask for photo credit if it is for sale." Technically, all of my art is for sale, but I am very low-key about my art. Sales of my art have not gone viral yet.... Respect is my main request. I responded: "Absolutely. I will credit you in the blog as well, Richard. I want to tell the story behind the weather… and include your memories of that afternoon. I was a meteorologist for Environment Canada in my previous life. Now I paint… mostly just for me as I attempt to learn and get better." 

The painting is a skyscape for me, although that flagged tree is prominent. I charged right into the composition with a big brush and lots of oil. The toppled pine was taken away. The distant shore was made even more distant. The clouds and weather were the subject. 

An artist friend asked how I might modify the inspiration. The following graphic summarizes those thoughts. One never really knows if they will work for better or worse. After a week,  I was in danger of over-working the oils... so I stopped.The science within the image was included in the composition. The cloud bases of convective clouds must be at the LCL (lifted condensation level) for the air mass. Those bases are at a uniform height above the ground and are quite flat. Ragged pieces of SCUD (Scattered Cumulus Under Deck) can form at any level in the turbulent flow associated with cumulonimbus (thunderstorms) and cold fronts. Typically, SCUD is formed when rain-moistened air is lifted again to condensation, at levels below the LCL. It was a wild sky full of energy! I wanted to conserve that energy in the bold strokes of oil. 

Now for some explanatory science. In the Northern Hemisphere, thunderstorms generally move west to east with the prevailing jet stream. Except when they don't. The line of thunderstorms that Richard witnessed was moving from the north, probably along a cold front. The individual thunderstorms were tracking toward the southeast after being triggered by the front. Without real data, that is only a best-guess conjecture. The following illustrated graphics will save a lot of words. 

This first graphic details the viewing angles of thunderstorms and their motion relative to your viewing location. 

The next graphic is cobbled together, the best I can, being retired, from a supercell thunderstorm example. It depicts how the supercell might look from the north, the safe side of that very dangerous cumulonimbus. 

With this groundwork, we can better comprehend the thunderstorms that Richard McKenzie witnessed. 

With this information, the following graphic labels and explains the features in Richard's photograph.

Richard McKenzie tells the tale perfectly related in his Facebook Post: 

"For several times now, we have paddled to the end of Charlton Lake looking for the old pine tree that Franklin Carmichael used as inspiration for his painting, "Twisted Pine". We have been assured that we were in the right location but have yet to discover it. There are actual photographs of this elusive tree, but the latest that I have seen is 20 years old. I would be interested if anyone has a more recent picture. Anyway, on the return paddle, the sky darkened as storm clouds were threatening. We were paddling quite quickly, trying to outpace the potential downpour, but when I caught a glimpse of a bent-over, windswept pine with the ominous cloud backdrop, I had to yell back to the captain to slow down and pull over so I could compose another picture. Fortunately, I have a very cooperative skipper. We may not have succeeded in our original quest, but occasionally, other things appear that are just as interesting. Maybe more so. A few shots and then we were back to the task at hand... "Racing the storm". I guess the years of practice with my experienced shipmate must have paid off, as we did manage to get back without getting wet. Lol!"

Another friend I made when I painted and presented in Willisville in 2014 now enters the story. The following is gleaned from Jon Butler's Facebook post of January 2026 regarding the "Twisted Pine", the goal of Richard's paddle to Miller Bay. Franklin Carmichael had a cabin on nearby Frood Lake.

I had unknowingly paddled right by the "Twisted Pine" in 2014. I was staying at the beautiful Charlton Lake Camp and paddled and painted around the entire area for a week.  I managed 26 paintings that week. 

The location of #3027 "Charlton Lake Storm Weather" is at the mouth of Miller Bay in the upper right of the above map.

Jon Butler is also a friend of Jim and Sue Waddington, who authored “Following in the Footsteps of the Group of Seven”, a wonderful story of their passionate travels in search of iconic painting sites visited by the Group of Seven. Jon had guided the Waddingtons to the "Twisted Pine" in July 2007. The location of the tree was high on very slippery rocks, revealing the lengths that plein air artists will go to paint something they find to be inspirational. The story of the "Bonsai Tree" starts on page 160 of Waddington's "Following in the Footsteps of the Group of Seven". 

Jon Butler even guided our group into Lake Grace in September 2014. Jim and Sue Waddington, Ed and Mary Bartram, and a couple of others were lucky participants. 

We exchanged books and stories. I had the "Weather of Ontario" and "The Passion of Phil the Forecaster" books to share.  

The trip to Willisville in September 2014 was a special time. I was very fortunate to meet so many fine people and to present "Tom Thomson Was A Weatherman" at the Charlton Lake Camp. That portion of Ontario has a rich history and is beautiful beyond belief. There are several lifetimes of paintings to be found there.

#3027 "Charlton Lake Storm Weather" brought back a lot of memories of that earlier trip to the La Cloche area.  My special thanks to Richard McKenzie for allowing me to interpret his very special image. These memories came back to me while interpreting the image Richard had to paddle back to capture. I also remembered my Dad while painting on the stretchers bars, and the easel that he crafted. 

Good times!

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  

#3026 "Island Queen at Harold's Rock"

#3026 "Island Queen at Harold's Rock"
12 X 18 inches oils on canvas.
 Started 10:30 am Tuesday, June 30th, 2026

My friend Cam was cruising around on a sunny Sunday afternoon, just lovin' life! 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. Singleton was in the middle of an oppressive heat wave with high UV values and smoke from Boreal infernos. Any outside activity was discouraged given the Climate Crisis conditions. It would be impossible to paint those scenes on location as well without a very sturdy boat! The water would be much too deep for my field easel. 

This inspiration is from 3 pm on Sunday, June 28th, 2026. The meteorology of this particular afternoon was described already in #3024 "Cousin Islands Flags". The weather was explained in the context of looking southward to an approaching storm. This view was looking northward away from that significant system. The weather to the north on the sunny side of the deformation zone looked completely different! This highlights how important it is to scan the 360 degrees of the horizon when attempting to understand the weather. 

I suspect that the passengers on the Island Queen were thrilled with the wonderful scenery and weather. They were probably oblivious to the clouds just to their north. Those were thunderstorms triggered along the Georgian Bay lake breeze front. The air mass was very convectively unstable. 

This painting is all about the weather. Please let me interpret what I see and how I do it using some meteorology. Someday, it might save your life. Shocking but true.  

The vertical cross-sectional conceptual model above is vital for vertical motions. Satellite views and associated conceptual models are essential for deciphering the critical horizontal winds that trigger the release of convective energy. 

Thunderstorms are fascinating. Many conceptual models detail the life cycle of the various types of thunderstorms and how to predict their development and movements. 

Start the interest in weather very young.

I gave countless presentations during my career with Environment Canada. Severe convection and climate change were my favourite topics after "Tom Thomson Was A Weatherman". By far the scariest talk was about the climate crisis! The Earth is currently in the verification stage of that terrifying very-long-range forecast first prepared by oil company scientists in the 1960s. See "Big carbon's strategic response to global warming, 1950-2020."  

Some of the material from those presentations was included in the "Weather of Ontario" published by Lone Pine in 2009. 

Most of my humour was edited out of the final publication. Weather is serious and becoming even more vital with climate change. One line was left in. I employ the following phrase in every presentation where it might possibly fit: 

• "Everyone wants to see a tornado before they die...
• (long pause to let the mental image of a violent tornado sink in) ... 
•                                                                     but not just before they die."

Although exciting, I never practised storm chasing. Potentially placing yourself and others in harm's way did not make sense to me. Life and health are too important and precarious to be jeopardized for a thrill. As a severe weather meteorologist, I much preferred to study severe storms via satellite and radar data, protected by hundreds if not thousands of kilometres. That data and science would then allow us to communicate what actions might be taken in the interest of safety and security. 

Every thunderstorm is potentially life-threatening. Lightning strikes occur 44 to 100 times every second. Globally, lightning claims an estimated 6,000 to 24,000 lives each year. The United States averages 20 lightning deaths per year, but with much higher lightning injuries, perhaps totalling 300. Canada typically records around 10 or fewer deaths annually. Golfers are lightning-prone! Lightning can easily hit a 9 iron!

Lightning requires cloud-top temperatures colder than -20°C - something readily determined from satellite imagery. Supercooled water droplets, carried by strong updrafts, collide with ice crystals and graupel (soft hail), driving static charge separation that transports positive charge to higher levels within the cumulonimbus. Lightning activity increases sharply when cloud-top temperatures fall colder than -55°C!

The following graphic from the Encyclopedia Britannica is a great basic summary. Note that "heat lightning" does not exist. The associated flash witnessed is just too far away to be heard - typically beyond 20 kilometres. Atmospheric temperature lapse rates, with temperatures warmer near the ground, bend sound waves away from the Earth's surface. The speed of sound in air varies directly with temperature.

The sound of thunder varies according to the orientation of the observer to the flash. If the strike is oriented perpendicular to you, expect to hear a short, loud crack explosion. If the flash is parallel to your line of sight, a long, drawn-out rumble is heard. 

30-30 Rule

• If you see lightning and count to 30 before hearing thunder, the storm is within 10 kilometres. Go inside.
• Wait time: Stay inside for at least 30 minutes after the last thunder before going back out.
• Lightning can strike up to 16 kilometres from the rain. Blue sky overhead does not mean safe.

I loved giving weather presentations... but not as much as painting. The above material is included for those interested in the weather. My PowerPoint presentations included countless images, animations and sound effects to drive the message home. I certainly got carried away then, but also now with the story behind #3026 "Island Queen at Harold's Rock". But safety comes from awareness and knowledge. Perhaps this information will do some good when you least suspect it.

The thunderstorm behind the Island Queen was on the verge of producing lightning. The 30,000 Island Cruise Lines that built the Island Queen is a third-generation, family-run, Canadian business for over 50 years - starting in 1972. 

The Island Queen provides an exceptional sightseeing experience among Georgian Bay's 30,000 Islands. Georgian Bay. The 30,000 Islands of Georgian Bay are the largest concentration of freshwater islands in the world. The area, appropriately awarded World Biosphere Reserve status from the United Nations, is a worthy destination, especially for artists. Tom Thomson and some of his artist friends who would form the Group of Seven in 1920 spent some time there in 1914. 

Just a few of the steps required to turn the inspiration into oils follow in the collage ... 

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  

#3025 "Cousin Island with Light"

#3025 "Cousin Island with Light"
10 X 9 inches, oils on stretched canvas.
Started 12:15 pm Monday, June 29th, 2026

Trees, rocks, water and clouds comprise most of the subject matter that I enjoy painting. Each one is unique and a new challenge. There are a lot of these inspirational scenes around Parry Sound. I could spend several lifetimes in that area and never run short of material that needs to be interpreted into oils.

The meteorology of this particular painting was described already in #3024 "Cousin Islands Flags". I will focus more on the history of the area, which I find equally fascinating. 

The body of water that gives the town its name was surveyed and named by Captain Henry Bayfield in the 19th century in honour of the Arctic explorer Sir William Edward Parry. In 1857, the modern townsite was established near the Ojibwa village of Wasauksing ("shining shore") at the mouth of the Seguin River. I prefer the indigenous name for the area. The Georgian Bay area is spectacular. I paddled it a lot but not nearly enough. 

Tom Thomson and members of the Group of Seven painted in the area around 1914. Parry Sound slumped a bit in economic activity shortly after World War I, when J.R. Booth built the rival town of Depot Harbour on nearby Parry Island. An accidental fire destroyed that town on August 14, 1945.

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  

#3024 "Cousin Islands Flags"

#3024 "Cousin Islands Flags" 
12 X 16 inches, oil on stretched canvas.
Started 11:30 am Monday, June 29th, 2026

Flagged trees always interest me.  Trees can tell us so much if we only pause to look. These trees are sculpted by the relentless onshore winds. The weather laboratory is my constant companion as well. There is a good physical reason behind every line in the sky. If you can explain each line, then you will also understand the weather. 

My friend Cam, who took this inspirational image, knows what I enjoy painting. The elements of rocks, trees and clouds always grab my attention. Together, they define the Canadian landscape. 

Before diagnosing a scene, it is helpful to determine the time of day and the direction of view. Cam revealed these as 3:15 pm on Sunday, June 28th, 2026, looking south across the western Point of Cousin Island. The same information could have been deduced from the cumulus clouds and the trees, but it is good to have an independent source. 

Both the flagged trees and the cumulus were leaning from right to left. The prevailing winds required to shape the pines are onshore and westerly on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay.  The view had to be looking southward! The red arrow in the following graphic is for the right side of the image while the blue arrow is for the left. 

The sun was high in the western sky, so the timing had to be mid-afternoon.

The western flanks of the cumulus clouds are fully illuminated by the summer sun, high in the sky. The summer solstice had occurred the previous week. The timing of the image had to be mid-afternoon. 

The lines of cirrostratus stretching across the sky high above the cumulus allow us to finish understanding the weather. Cirrostratus are ice crystal clouds at the highest levels of the troposphere, the layer of the atmosphere which contains most of the exciting weather. 

Gentle lift of ascending air is required to create these extensive layers of cloud. Such lift is common at the leading edge of the warm conveyor belt associated with an approaching weather system. The warm air that heads northward rises along the constant-energy surface meteorologists refer to as isentropes, for free. Typically, constant-energy surfaces slope upward from the equator, reaching higher levels over both poles. The lines in the cirrostratus are deformation zones where a layer of moisture encounters the leading edge of the warm and moist air mass. 

The following graphic illustrates the basic deformation-zone flow and the gravity waves typically found therein. There is no exam. 

If I had been there with my easel secured in the deep water of the channel, I would have watched the elements of cirrus cloud moving from right to left. This means that Parry Sound and Cousin Island were under the anticyclonic companion of the warm conveyor belt. The angle of the subtle gravity waves that I included in the painting confirms this diagnosis. The implications of this are explained in several blogs within the searchable "Art and Science of Phil the Forecaster". The centre of the approaching system was aimed to the north of Parry Sound, at least for the moment. 

To deduce more about the approaching weather, one needs to look further upstream. Water vapour imagery was always my go-to tool. In this case, a large area of convection was located over Wisconsin. The surface warm front was associated with that Mesoscale Convective System (Complex).

A single image or better still, an animation of water vapour imagery, could keep me analyzing and diagnosing the information contained therein for hours, if I let it. The solution to that effort was knowledge of where and when the severe weather could be found based solely on the actual atmosphere. 

I was thinking the above thoughts while I painted. Perhaps I should have focused more on my brush strokes. The following collage summarizes some of the steps I took while completing #3024 "Cousin Islands Flags". 

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  

#3023 "Next Adventure at Parry Sound"

#3023 "Next Adventure at Parry Sound"
20 X 24 inches, oils on canvas.
Started at 9:15 am, Wednesday, June 24th, 2026

My friend Cam captured a wonderful deformation zone while cruising at 8:14 am on Wednesday, June 24th, 2026, not far from his personal paradise near Parry Sound. I could not resist. Cam had hooked me with the classic deformation zone and the lines in the sky. 

Every cloud and every line in the sky tells a story. With some instruction and practice, it is not very hard to do and is lots of fun at the same time. The sky is an open book, begging to be read and appreciated. 

The deformation zone, the double-headed green line to the right, is my signature dynamic feature. Every line in the sky is some flavour of the deformation zone process. You can find many meteorological lessons explaining how to employ the deformation zone within "The Art and Science of Phil the Forecaster" blog. Just insert "deformation" into the blog search engine and grab a cool beverage or three. 

This particular deformation zone over Parry Sound is the classic leading edge of the cirrostratus layer of the warm conveyor belt comprising an approaching weather system. The warm conveyor belt glides easily upward along the constant energy surfaces referred to by meteorologists as being "isentropic". The air moves freely with no exchange of energy. 

The potential temperatures that define these isentropic surfaces increase with height. The layer holding cirrus, ice-crystal clouds, is the highest within the atmospheric ocean. The middle cloud layer is below that, while the low cloud etage is closest to the ground. There are as many constant energy surfaces as you wish to examine, but three are sufficient to teach the principles. 

A deformation zone leads each layer and is coincident with the warm frontal surface. To be more precise, a three-dimensional "deformation skin" is the leading edge of the warm and moist air mass. I think of this deformation skin as a continuous, elastic fabric that encases every distinct air mass (and circulation). Moisture tends to follow isentropic surfaces (essentially two-dimensional layers) and reveals itself where that moisture intersects the deformation skin. The intersection of a layer with the three-dimensional skin is simply a line, referred to as a deformation zone since the early 1980s.

The typical warm frontal surface has a vertical slope of 1 in 100. This means that for every kilometre in altitude above the ground, the warm frontal surface advances 100 kilometres forward. The highest and coldest cirrus deformation zone is thus the furthest advanced, followed by the middle cloud and then the low cloud deformation zones. The accompanying graphics will hopefully make these words clear. 

The challenge is that these lines are displayed on a flat screen, which conceals the vertical, three-dimensional character of the clouds. Satellite imagery that senses the temperature of the cloud layers allows meteorologists to untangle the cloud lines in the vertical. The water vapour image is the best single data source to decipher this information. In the following typical enhancement, the coldest and highest (opaque) water vapour is depicted in shades of purple. 

By examining the deformation zone clouds and reading between the lines, one can deduce the following information about the approaching weather. In fact, rain had already crossed into lower Michigan and was on the way... 

There is no exam and no expectations. This is the kind of stuff I shared with joy during my career with anyone even mildly interested. A meteorologist never really retires, being continually surrounded by interesting weather. My laboratory is always with me when I pick up my paintbrushes. 

#3023 "Next Adventure at Parry Sound"

All of the above jumped out of the cloud lines when I first saw Cam's photo. The thought processes are instinctual after doing them countless thousands of times! There is much more as well, like the streets of cumulus will be found on the sunny side of the cloudy deformation zone. Basic science is all one needs. Meteorology is not "rocket surgery". 

According to Google Earth, the point of land around the corner to the right had a location called "Next Adventure". I thought that was most appropriate to include in the title for the painting. My artistic journey was about to embark on the next adventure of a Parry Sound skyscape. 

Longs Island was behind that point. Lighthouse Point of Killbear Provincial Park was to the left of the subtle gap, leading to Parry Sound. 

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  

#3022 "Singleton Summer Solstice Showery Sunset"

#3022 "Singleton Summer Solstice Showery Sunset"
24 X 20 inches, oils on stretched canvas.
Started 10:00 am Sunday, June 21st, 2026

This was the Singleton sky at 8:53 pm on Saturday, June 20th, 2026. Summer Solstice would arrive a few hours later at 08:25 UTC (4:25 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time early on Sunday morning). For us, it was going to be a day of rest, except that I would start this painting in the Studio. My Dad always and most deservedly took Sundays off. Memories of my father always come back to me when I am at the Studio Easel that he made. 

That sunset sky was special for being "unusual and very pretty". I thought it deserved to be interpreted in oils on a canvas stretched over a frame that my Dad had built. My goal is to use every one of those stretcher bars that were built out of the wood that was the main post supporting the back porch of our home at 24 East Avenue in Brockville, Ontario. Waste not, want not. 

The sunset light was reflecting off the cloud bases. Those clouds were the remnants of collapsing thunderstorms. The afternoon convection had been quite intense, with almost an inch of rain being recorded at Singleton. The cloud bases became a relatively stable layer with the collapse of the convection. Winds from that subsidence also rippled gravity waves in those cloud bases. Weak shafts of virga accompanied those downdrafts. All of this was reflected in the calm waters of Singleton Lake. 

The following collage summarizes the meteorology of the sunset sky. 

Solstice is a big celebration around the planet. Summer Solstice marks the astronomical start of summer and the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The Earth's axis tilts away from the sun from this point forward, so the days will gradually shorten until the winter solstice in December, marking the shortest day of the year. Sunday would enjoy 15 hours and 31 minutes of sunlight. That leaves 8 hours and 29 minutes of night, neglecting quantum effects... 

The Summer Solstice is an especially big deal at Stonehenge, pictured above.. The modern celebrations that occur at Stonehenge are off the scale, with people dressing in Druid clothing. 

The Stonehenge story does not end with hoards of people singing and dancing around the bluestones in 2026... the Solstice story goes back much longer.

Scientists agree on one theory that three tribes contributed to the building of Stonehenge at three different times. Neolithic agrarians, called the Windmill Hill People, started construction around 3,000 BC. The highly organized and industrious Bleaker People came next around 2,000 BC. Scientists believe that they were also sun worshippers, and it was the Bleaker People who aligned Stonehenge with certain important solar events such as the Summer and Winter solstices. The Wessex People were the third and final group to have worked on Stonehenge. They arrived around 1,500 BC at the height of the Bronze Age.

Stonehenge was used as a burial site for at least part of its life. Stonehenge was also thought to be a place of healing. The massive bluestones were said to have curative powers. Stonehenge also aligns with the sun on the solstices. 

Recent research has discovered that the story of Solstice actually extends back to the Stone Age to Bulford and 2950 BC.

At nearby Larkhill, a Neolithic enclosure from around 3700 BC, almost 1000 years before Bulford, has its entrance facing north-east toward Sidbury Hill, the highest point on the horizon. Even Stone Age people understood the seasonal movements of the sun. 

#3022 "Singleton Summer Solstice Showery Sunset"

I use art to learn science and, in this case, history. A stunning sunset at Singleton can turn into an exciting discovery of many separate stories. All of nature turns to enjoy a good sunrise and sunset. We are no different. Perhaps busy modern humans would benefit from being more like their Stone Age ancestors and look past the steel and concrete to enjoy the sun and the sky. 

Humans have acquired much knowledge in the last 5000 years, but not wisdom. The last two hundred years of the Industrial Revolution have doubled atmospheric carbon with catastrophic results. Fuelled by insatiable greed and the lust for power, climate tipping points are toppling. There is no going back, and the dominant nations of the world are not doing nearly enough to change their ways. 

Any actions taken now can only influence the scale of the looming catastrophes. Heat, drought, floods, fire, plagues and climate refugees. The future will be quite unimaginable, as the Earth has not been in this condition for 14 million years. 

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  

#3021 "Northern Map Daisy"

#3021 "Northern Map Daisy" 
10 x 8 inches. Oils on canvas panel.
Started 8:30 am Tuesday, June 16th, 2026.

The artful dodger of a Northern Map Turtle was still admiring #3020 "June Daisy". The weather was delicious, with the wind keeping the biting bugs at bay. Wishing to make the most of a very pleasant plein air day, I grabbed another plein air kit and painted #3021 "Northern Map Daisy", named after the inspirational turtle.

The two painting locations were only 15 feet apart on the other side of the wood oven. My treatment of the slight variations within the large patch of daisies was distinctly different from opposite angles. Vive la différence. I charged that little panel with abandon and had some fun. Isn't that what life and art are supposed to be?

The turtles continued coming. A large snapping turtle had visited the sand pit we had put in place years before. That large nest was protected with improvised materials. I used a wood pallet to cover the large area. A snapping turtle like that could lay thirty eggs. We had seen that happen a few times before. These turtle eggs would at least have a chance.

 

 I have special 1/4 inch welded screening to construct proper turtle guards. Just need to get some wood now. There will be perhaps 30 new turtle guards ready for the 2027 nesting season. Some of the current steel grates weigh 20 pounds and seem to get even heavier with each passing year. 

Only about 1 in 1,000 sea turtle eggs survive to adulthood. The odds are even tougher for some freshwater species. Snapping turtles can have survival rates as low as 1 in 1,400. The vast majority of hatchlings are lost to natural predators and environmental hazards in their first few days of life.

Perhaps that is why we have an abundance of turtles at Singleton ... we give them a chance. 

For this and much more art, click Fine Art America or go straight to Collections or 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