"Rocking" - Something a lot different than usual...

It was about to rain but I wanted to play with a panel that I had been using to scrape off my palette knife. I wanted to use the random colours and texture of the scrapings on the panel within the painting of the granite rock on the south shore of Jim Day Rapids. I had the paint and the time and plus there are no rules in the art world... It sprinkled a few drops before I finished but not enough to affect real oil paint.

This can be hung either way - it was meant to be a fun reflection piece.

Every Cloud Has A Green Lining

I made time to paint. The cold frontal convection was setting up and I thought that it would be fun to try to capture the moment under the shelter of the balcony. This was a thunderstorm although I could not hear the thunder until after it passed. The cell turned right as it crossed the St. Lawrence which is a clue that it was a supercell. It changed so quickly that I just blocked in the colours and shapes. An area of dark heavy rain was followed by a whiter swath of heavier rain and I believe some hail. The updraft was definitely tilted to the northwest. The outflow winds stirred up the waves which were then pounded down by the heavy precipitation. The cloud elements really were that dark.


The cloud has a green lining because the canvas was tinted a cool green but also because the rain is much needed for the ecosystem of the St. Lawrence river valley and the low water levels of the summer of 2010. The cloud also blocks a fair bit of the harmful UV radiation. In fact I much prefer a cloudy day when I am en plein air. There was no way I could have painted this cell from the field.

Transformers

The process of transformation happens every day. Morning cloud morphs into something new due to daytime heating and the wind. In this case, overcast stratocumulus transforms into cumulus and cumulus fractus with the strong daytime heating commensurate with the sun of early summer. Warm, calm conditions exist under the rising thermals of the cumulus while cool downdrafts mark the compensating descending air that balances the updrafts. What goes up must come down.


The stratocumulus transformed to cumulus faster over the land than it did over the water. Streets of cumulus aligned along the southwesterly winds and funneled down the St. Lawrence River. The cloud patterns changed quickly and it was challenging to keep up with the composition. With time there was more blue sky between the clouds that were transforming from the horizontal to the vertical.

Convection Killer

An overcast deck of stratocumulus in the morning can really ruin a perfectly good (but inaccurate) forecast for afternoon convection. Such stratocumulus is typical in the warm and humid air mass. The same moisture that creates the huge instabilities conducive to severe convection, also promotes low deck stratocumulus. As I was signing my name, the sun started to peak between the stratocumulus as it continued its transformation into cumulus due to the ongoing daytime heating.

Boots

This is the marble point at Singleton Lake. I was up to my thighs in water with the setting sun on my back. Sun fish swam around my legs. It was only an 8x10 canvas and I was a bit cramped for the composition - but I had fun! The boots left on the shore are mine. Thus the cryptic title for this sketch.

"Northern Light: The Enduring Mystery of Tom Thomson and the Woman Who Loved Him"

My Friend Roy MacGregor is just finishing the final edits on his study of Tom Thomson. "Northern Light: The Enduring Mystery of Tom Thomson and the Woman Who Loved Him". Random House will publish it in September. Roy and I agree that there is not as much mystery as one might think. When one removes the silly, implausible, invented fabrications, the simpler truth remains. I was very pleased to help out where I could. CSI (Creative Scene Investigation) is a powerful tool. It is a really great read and my only wish is that the really long version could go into print... There are some facts that will finally set the record straight and certainly surprise a lot of TT enthusiasts! Good for you Roy...



This is the cover... It shows Tom circa 1915-1916 working on a trout spoon. Tom always thought that he was a better fisherman than an artist.

Grey Owl - Day 7

I will likely tinker on Grey Owl for another few days but it will be difficult to see the brush strokes - and maybe even the differences.

Grey Owl - Day 3

There are a lot of feathers on a grey owl and no two seem to be the same... I hope that you like it!

Great Grey

My Friend Dave Hotchkiss took this remarkable image of a great grey owl about to strike a baited mouse on the top of the fence post. Dave wanted me to tackle this subject matter to see how I would do. I actually counted feathers while trying to keep the art painterly and loose. It is indeed another challenge. Let's see how it turns out! The hauntingly intense eye is the most important part of this subject.