Point Paradise

This is the western point of our Singleton property. A finger of 1.2 billion year old marble points and plunges into the 50 foot deepest portion of Singleton Lake. The red cedars on this point are probably much older than their limited size would suggest. Point Paradise will be a great place to sit and watch the world go by when we finally get a chance to slow down.
 

Reflecting

I love the marble rock shores of Singleton Lake. The rock may be tough on the canoe but I am very, very careful. The reflections in water always interest me and I enjoy practicing the best ways to handle the different colours and textures without getting dragged into the photo-realism approach to painting. The water level was really low. I will do my patented "rain dance" to fix the situation. It is not pretty but it works....

Singleton Marble

The Frontenac Axis connects the northern Canadian Shield with the Adirondack region. It is an important biological corridor linking Adirondack Park with Algonquin Park. Singleton Lake is right in the middle of all of the action. We try to preserve this natural corridor the best we can within our little corner of paradise. The marble ridges run northeast to southwest. Sedimentary limestone rock is transformed into marble by a lot of heat and/or pressure. The marble of the Frontenac Axis is commonly mistaken for granite. The entire region has been taken for granted... The rock forming the shores of Singleton Lake is about 1.2 billion years old. At one time there was a lot of water and currents flowing around these marble ridges. The water level still fluctuates a lot as revealed by the etchings on the rock. Currently the water is the lowest that I have seen it. The altocumulus gravity waves reflected in the water were an indicator of a low pressure area and warm front on the way.

Singleton Sunset 2012

The sunsets are spectacular most evenings across Singleton Lake. The colours change really quickly so it would be a race against time that I would certainly lose - at least in this case. The lake was actually ice covered. I decided to enjoy a larger canvas in the warm studio to attempt to do my best with this vista. It was raining outside. A beaver came to inspect some trees on the lake front that they were eyeing for dessert.

I plan to do many more sunset paintings of this vista so I added the year in order to differentiate between them.

Fresh Air

The Arctic air behind a cold front is fresh in both temperature and quality - unlike the air behind a summer cold front. The ice formed from shore to shore to shore overnight behind one such cold front. The sheet of "glass" required that aqua animals needed to break breathing holes to get around and stay alive. One such hole is in the front left of this painting. Air bubbles trapped under the ice must be rich in carbon dioxide from the exhaled breath of the rodents. I suspect this hole was done by a beaver. The family of otters would have punched a riot of holes while the beavers are more solitary swimmers. I am not sure a muskrat would have been big and strong enough to punch such a hole through the ice. There is always something to paint at Jim Day Rapids.
 

Cold Front 12-12-12

This view is looking easterly across the open field beside the Singleton Studio. A cold front had just passed through and I wanted to catch the convective clouds before they got too far to the east and before the temperatures dropped too much. Typically just behind an anabatic cold front skies clear for maybe an hour and then cloud in again as air continues to rise above the wedge of cold air. There was almost no preciptation on the front - at least at Singleton Lake. I always like the way the majestic white pines stand out alone against the sky.
I also felt motivated to paint on the 12th day of the 12th month in 2012...
 

Wellington County in Late July 2013

Wellington County Museum - Plein Air Paintfest with Phil the Foreaster Chadwick July 22 through July 26, 2012. We have wonderful skies in Wellington County, fields and farms and the Grand River. Classes will be out most of the day, with a home base in the lower level of a big old bank barn. If it rains, there is a terrific view down the slope to the river. The barn will have tables, chairs, electricity and cold water. Coffee, lunchroom and washrooms in the main building.
Sounds like fun to me...