The Art and Science of Paddles - Tom Thomson

Painting with Janine in Huntsville 2016

In COVID spring 2020, I asked my friend and artist Janine Marson to paint a couple of paddles.  I have known and painted with Janine for many years. 

At the early age of only eight, Janine experienced a life changing encounter with iconic Group of Seven artist A.J. Casson who was painting up at Oxtongue Lake. Janine's chilhood stomping ground was the family resort "Timber Trail Inn" in Oxtongue. Tom Thomson sketched his swamp picture standing at the future site of Cabin 12. That patch of Canadian wilderness would grow into the studio masterpiece and quintessential piece of Canadiana named "Northern River". It was preordained that Janine would make art her life. Some of that life story and Janine were featured in the March 2020 copy of Muoskoa Life. You may also visit Janine's site at www.janinemarson.com.

Art is an individualistic and creative process. One does not describe the final product if something brilliant is the goal. Janine had free rein although I did specify that one paddle was to be a tribute to Tom Thomson and the other was intended for Vincent Van Gogh. I wanted them painted in a vertical format to match my other home-made paddles.

The results were spectacular and I think they deserve to be shared - the purpose of this entry. Here are the stories of two paddles and artists whose work I find very inspirational.

Tea Lake Dam in Algonquin Park, c. 1915

Thomas John Thomson August 5, 1877 – July 8, 1917 died at the age of only 39 years.

As an artist Tom painted seriously for just a few years. He was brilliantly talented and truly unique but his career was mysteriously ended just before his fortieth birthday. A google search of "Tom Thomson" produces 46 million hits so I will leave the details of Tom's life to the Web. 

Janine selected some of my favourite Tom Thomson quotes. Janine and I relate to these words. 

• Take everything as it comes; the wave passes, deal with the next one.

• I’ll stick to painting as long as I can.

• Some day they will know what I mean. 

Tom Thomson Was a Weatherman Presentation

The Thomson painting selected to grace the paddle was one of Tom’s many skyscapes. Tom was a weather fan and I have done several hundred presentations presenting that case. “Sunset  came from the spring of 1915 and has an interesting story that few might know. 

Sunsets are greatly reddened due to the sun position being very low or just below the horizon. The light passing at grazing incidence upon the earth must pass through a much longer path of atmosphere than when it is overhead. Since short wavelength light is more efficiently scattered by Rayleigh scattering, most of the blues are scattered out of the beam of sunlight before it reaches our eyes. 

Aerosols and particulate matter also contribute to the scattering of blue and even longer green wavelengths out of the beam. This helps to explain the brilliant red sunsets seen when there are many airborne particles such as after volcanic eruptions. The cataclysmic 1883 eruption of Krakatoa contributed to the blood red skies of many sunset paintings in the following years. “The Scream of Nature” and a series of similar paintings collectively referred to as “The Scream” by Edvard Munch may have been influenced by the Krakatoa eruption. Of course, there are those who disagree saying that Munch was not influenced by what he had seen – in strong contrast to Tom Thomson. Alternatively, the skeptics suggest that the close proximity of both a slaughterhouse and an insane asylum to the painting location may have offered some inspiration to Munch.

West Coast Smoke June 25th, 2020

The summer of 2020 bears many similarities to the explosion of Mount Larsen. The smoke from the fires that cover much of western North America can be traced eastward across the continent. Climate change and the destruction of nature would have devasted Tom... as it does Janine and me. 

Tom's artist friends who would later form the Group of Seven, accused him of colour exaggeration. Actually Tom carefully mixed the colours that he saw. Paint on Tom...

The paddle shaft inscriptions.

Thomson - Marson Paddle Collage

Here is Janine’s story behind the Thomson paddle. 

I think this story was worth sharing... art matters...we are all in this together. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water (but not this one)

Phil the Forecaster Chadwick

PS: I will save the story of Vincent's paddle for another day. 

Weather Watching Guide for Everyone…

#2057 "Deformation Cirrus" Pixels Link

Know your cloud… know your country. 

It may sound like a reality entertainment series but you too can be a “Cloud Tracker”.  This guide is intended to be a short introduction to understanding the clouds and their dynamics. The guide is designed to assist you in understanding the current weather situation. There are multiple excellent and thorough resources for the multitude of cloud types and their specific characterisitics. That information is terrific but not required for this short “Weather Watching Guide”.

The basic premise is that the cloud lines and shapes will allow the curious observer using their right hand, to determine their relative location within a mid-latitude storm and thus the weather. The Conveyor Belt Conceptual Model which was described in all of its detail in the previous 26 Blogs, describes everything you need to know. It is important to try to deduce the wind in the atmospheric frame of reference even though our observation is tied to the earth.

How high is the Cloud? The Outstretched Hand Guide. Convective cloud elements are all about the same size. They appear different just because of their height - how far away they are. If your outstretched hand can fully cover a cumulus cloud, then that cloud is certainly in the low etage and below 6500 hundred feet above the ground. If the thumb of your outstretched hand covers the convective element, then it is high enough to be altocumulus - between 6500 and 20,000 feet above the earth surface which is in the mid etage. If the tip of your outstretched pinky finger covers the convective element then you are looking at cirrocumulus in the high etage above 20,000 feet.

Clouds in the low etage interact with the earth's surface. Any cloud above that is in the free atmosphere. The winds moving and shaping clouds in the free atmosphere are the winds you will want to understand for the Conveyor Belt Conceptual Model. 

Oceanic Langmuir Streaks

Are the clouds Parallel to the Wind? Langmuir streaks of cloud can be as long as the wind. Langmuir streaks occur in a mildly unstable depth of the atmosphere bounded by a stable layer or boundary. Langmuir conducted his research for the ocean but the atmosphere is just an ocean of air with us at the bottom. The spacing between Langmuir streaks are more apt to be irregular. 

A Generalized Langmuir Streak Conceptual Model

Unstable layers of the atmosphere are those where the potential temperature of the atmosphere decreases with height. Parcels of air in an unstable atmosphere keep rising after being disturbed from their original level. Convective clouds like all types of cumulus reveal that the atmosphere is unstable. Langmuir streaks in the lower atmosphere are typically called turbulent stratocumulus cloud streets.

Turbulent Stratocumulus Streets in the Boundary Layer

The planetary boundary layer which is that layer of the atmosphere that exchanges heat, moisture and momentum with the ground is typically unstable during the day. Heating of the ground by the sun creates the instability and encourage and give rise to turbulent stratocumulus cloud streets.

Langmuir streaks in the upper atmosphere tend to be identified as jet stream cirrus and form below the stable layer at the top of the troposhere - where most of the weather we experience occurs. These high level Langmuir streaks parallel the central channels of the warm and dry conveyor belts. 

Gravity Waves Perpendicular to the Wind
Like Waves on a Lake

Are the clouds Perpendicular to the Wind? Gravity wave clouds are only as long as the width of the wind flow. Gravity waves occur within a stable layer of the atmosphere. The spacing between gravity wave bands are very regular. The wavelength or spacing between the gravity waves increase with the wind speed.

Stable layers of the atmosphere are those where the potential temperature of the atmosphere increases with height. Parcels of air are returned to their original level after being disturbed by a fluctuation in the wind or a barrier.

For example the planetary boundary layer is typically stable during the night. Cooling of the ground through the outward radiation of surface heat energy creates this nocturnal stability - cool temperatures at the surface and unchanged warmer temperatures aloft at the top of the planetary boundary layer. Gravity waves are commonly observed at the top of the planetary boundary layer after a night of cooling.

Frontal boundaries between air masses is the other location where one will typically find deviations in stability from that typically found in the atmosphere. Warm fronts direct warm air aloft which creates a stable situation. Cold fronts advance cooler air near the surface and these boundaries can be unstable.

Both Langmuir streaks and gravity waves reveal the wind within the atmospheric frame of reference which are the winds studied in the Conveyor Belt Conceptual Model. The Langmuir streaks align parallel to both the warm and dry conveyor belts. The Langmuir streaks are typically more obvious within the moisture of the warm conveyor belt. The gravity waves are everywhere perpendicular to the atmospheric frame wind. The regular waves caused by gravity in a stable layer can be most useful in finding the swirls as illustrated in #2378 "Singleton Classic Cirrus Summer Sunset".

Here is the clincher though - the Deformation Zone is your new best friend! I described how deformation zones are formed in Cloud Shapes and Lines in the Atmosphere. A Closer Look at Lines in the Sky describes the deformation zone process in even more detail. 

Any sharp boundary between relatively moist and dry air must be a deformation zone. This is my favourite conceptual model as it reveals everything you could hope to discover about the atmosphere. These deformation zone lines are also very common and are a big part of the Conveyor Belt Conceptual Model. Deformation zones come in all sizes and shapes and occur throughout the depth of the atmosphere. In fact a three dimensional deformation zone skin encases the air masses and their circulations. The quasi-horizontal intersections  between layers of cloud and the three dimensional deformation zone skin only reveal the linear cross-sections. The entire three-dimensional deformation zone skin requires your imagination.

The Deformation Zone Conceptual Model

Deformation zones (the double headed green arrow) are perpendicular to the strongest winds in the atmosphere. Watch the cloud move along the sharp boundary to reveal the generally weaker swirls that comprise the deformation zone conceptual model. Using your right hand, curl your fingers in the direction of this cloud motion. Your right thumb will point in the direction of the secondary motions in the atmosphere resulting from the deformation zone process. An upward pointing thumb means that the air is rising in the cyclonic companion of the flow - you can expect more cloud and instability. A downward pointing thumb means that the air is descending in the anticyclonic companion of the flow - you can expect less cloud and more stability - and more gravity waves too. 

If one could see the dry air parcels on the opposite side of the confluent asymptote of the deformation zone, you would flip your right hand keeping your fingers pointing in the same direction - but the thumb must turn to point in the opposite direction for that paired swirl. In this way an "X" must be paired with an "N" across the confluent asymptote of the deformation zone - and vice versa too.

The Warm Conveyor Belt and Gravity Wave Orientations

An astute weather observer can now locate the portion of the Conveyor Belt Conceptual Model that is currently crossing their location. An understanding of the Conveyor Belt Conceptual Model and the mid-latitude storm will allow the weather observer to further anticipate what is likely to happen in the future. 

Every Conveyor Belt is comprised of both a 

Cyclonic Companion and an Anticyclonic Companion

The Companions are very different in term sof weather.

A weather forecaster is born…

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil the Forecaster Chadwick

PS: I developed this material in the mid 1980's. The work took a few years - mainly done on quiet night shifts.