Tom Thomson's Islands Canoe Lake, 1916

The high horizon identifies this sketch as a landscape. However, the sky in the top quarter of the panel is enough to weave some interesting meteorology in conjunction with the wave action on the lake. The brushwork is also reminiscent of that found in the previous entry "Tom Thomson's Petawawa Gorges; Night 1916" and it is logical to continue the tale of Tom Thomson's trail from where we left off. I can explain.

Islands Canoe Lake, 1916 
Height: 21.4 cm (8.4 in); width: 26.2 cm (10.3 in)
Tom's Paintbox Size;

McMichael Canadian Art Collection

Tom Thomson's catalogue raisonné for this painting suggests an alternate title as "Grand Lake at Achray Spring 1916". Further investigation based on the McElroy research finds "this sketch is definitely not at Achray and not anywhere on Grand Lake.  Aside from the fact that there are very few islands in Grand Lake, the islands that are there are mostly quite small and are far apart from each other, and also are not heavily treed like the ones in the sketch." 

As mentioned several times, Tom's art was largely catalogued by his friends after his passing in July 1917. In 1916, his group of artist friends were occupied by World War One, family or simply trying to get by. The life of an artist is rarely easy. Their notes were written on the back of the paintings after World War One ended and the artists reassembled to remember their lost friend. 

His closest painting buddy probably got it right as written on the back of the panel: "probably "Canoe Lake" / painted by Tom Thomson / A.Y.J.". Lawren Harris was mistaken with his guess: "Grand Lake At Achray -LRH ". MacDonald, one of my favourite artists, certified the sketch as one of Tom's and certainly got the year correct: "Tom Thomson 1916 / J.E.H. MacDonald".  Tom could have saved us all a lot of effort if he had just pencilled in a few notes. 

My map of Canoe Lake and the landforms in Tom's "Islands"
tentatively identified.

I believe I have been to this exact painting location on Hayhurst Point looking southerly across the expanse of Canoe Lake. The red foliage suggests an autumn painting as opposed to "spring" as indicated in Tom Thomson's catalogue raisonné. His brushwork was very similar to that he used in "Petawawa Gorges; Night 1916" and artists tend to find a groove and get pleasantly stuck there for at least a few paintings. 

Tom had just spent a summer of fire ranging and the pent-up artistic energy was about to be unleashed in his post Studio Building era. Tom was at Basin Depot on Wednesday, October 4th, 1916 to mail a letter to his patron Dr. James MacCallum inviting him to come to Algonquin to paint the "fall colour". Tom was "not fired yet but I am hoping to be put off right away"  so he had to return to Achray to be a fire ranger for a bit longer. However, Tom was planning to paint and the "fall colour .. by the end of the week will be at its best".

Travelling by train back to Toronto would have made a stop at Canoe Lake easy. A layover at Canoe Lake would have allowed Tom a chance to relax and camp at his favourite spot on Hayhurst Point. Some autumn fishing and painting would have been a fine way to spend some time. Why be in a rush to get back to Toronto where the side effects of the war were still raging? Tom did return to Toronto by early November 1916 but that left almost four weeks with possibly a big chunk of that spent at Canoe Lake surrounded by friends. Of course, I was not there and cannot be certain but I have an open mind and am very open to any positive and thoughtful suggestions. 

Now for the weather.. this story is all about gravity waves. I have written many times about how wind waves can be superimposed on swells but first some background physics. Consider "Keep an Open Mind", "Wind Waves and Swells and Lines in the Sky" and "Sunrise or Sunset - Seeing Even More Gravity Wave Clouds" for more background information although there are certainly more.

Wind waves are generated with the wind. Every wave starts as small ripples and a simple breeze which grow with time as the kinetic energy of the wind is transferred into the vertical oscillations which are gravity waves. The wavelength and amplitude of gravity waves increase directly with the wind speed. 

Swells are longer wavelength gravity waves that propagate great distances from where they were generated by strong winds. During the course of their trip, the energy from the shorter wavelengths and higher frequency wind wave cascade to the longer wavelength and lower frequency swells. The wavelength of swells increases with distance from the source while the amplitude decreases relatively slowly.

The wind speed in the source area relates directly to the amplitude of the swell. The swells will also persist longer in those cases where the winds in the source area were persistent for a longer period. The jet stream maximum winds that energize every weather system are the source of these atmospheric ocean swells. 

Back lit large (long wavelength), alternating dark and light bands
of clouds on the southern horizon are swells in the atmospheric
ocean originating from strong jet stream winds far to the south 

Gravity waves are everywhere perpendicular to the wind direction that causes the original vertical displacement of the air parcels. Wind waves superimposed on the swells can reveal where you are in terms of the conveyor belt conceptual model. If the wind waves as generated on-site turn cyclonically (remember your Coriolis Hand with your thumb pointing upward), the wind perpendicular to those wind waves also turns cyclonically with respect to that which generated the swells. The view is of the cyclonic companion of the warm conveyor belt. 

If the wind waves turn anticyclonically with respect to that which generated the swells, the view is looking at the anticyclonic companion of the warm conveyor belt.

If the wind waves and swells are parallel, then the wind direction that created both are also parallel and the col of the deformation zone is overhead or you are closer to the source region for the swells. 

I tried to explain all of this in the mid-1980s when I taught at the Training Branch for the then Atmospheric Environment Service. Placing this information within the atmospheric frame of reference was a challenging concept to understand - a tough sell so to speak and I could barely get past "sun glint". I was restrained to the chalk board and hand waving to explain these concepts. PowerPoint did not exist then. 

I have continued to refine and practice the delivery of this material over the decades. I even took it to COMET in Boulder, Colorado. Most of this frame of reference material is yet to be published but it is so very important to understand clouds within the atmospheric frame that shape the moisture patterns. The cloud shapes and the superimposition of wind waves on swells can tell you much about the weather. 

 

Looking at Tom's painting, I tried to decipher how the smaller cloud elements and wind waves lined up with the larger, alternating dark and light swells. This effort was an attempt to discover which side of the deformation zone was approaching Canoe Lake using the technique described above. I could not convince myself definitively whether those wind waves curled cyclonically or anticyclonically relative to the swells. And remember, I am pretty gullible but could not be convinced.

Another Attempt at a 3D Graphic to explain this Vital Perspective of Frame of Reference.
This view closely represents Tom's view on that afternoon in the autumn of 1916.
The view mimics the earth-bound perspective of an approaching warm conveyor belt. 
In an actual situation, the drift of the wind waves will reveal which portion of the warm
conveyor belt is approaching your position. The cyclonic companion will bring more
weather initially but remember, eventually the entire conveyor belt conceptual model must
pass to you east with the guiding jet stream.

Islands, Canoe Lake 1916

Also, note that the right (west) side of the panel is brighter and I suspect some late afternoon sunlight was illuminating the scene. This fact further refines the timing of the sketch to later in the day. 

The somewhat turbulent and convective altocumulus on the southern horizon is also consistent with the warm conveyor belt and most probably, the unstable and stronger cyclonic companion. A case could be made that the wind waves were turned cyclonically to the atmospheric swells (note the subtle dashed red lines inserted above the horizon that line up with the cloud elements and also the direction of the brush strokes). I was afraid that I was the only one that I could convince with this proposal.

It is important to note that the wave action seems unaffected by the shoreline. This implies that the winds were southerly. Otherwise, the high and rocky shore would certainly provide lee shelter from the winds had they been northerly in direction. Southerly surface winds under the warm conveyor belt further allow us to deduce that the cold conveyor belt was quite weak. In addition, the surface wind direction and speed of the cold conveyor belt can be used to conclude that the weather system was also rather weak and/or moving quickly with the jet stream. The weather with the approaching warm conveyor belt would come and go quickly. For those who are interested, I explained the science behind these deductions in "Weather Lessons for Everyone from the Cold Conveyor Belt Wizard". 

Someone with imagination and science can certainly weave an interesting tale out of those brush strokes - but one can never be utterly confident that the story is absolutely true and not a work of science fiction. To be a hundred percent certain, I would have needed to be painting alongside Tom Thomson and watching how the wind waves drifted in the atmospheric frame of reference. That would have been fun!

After Tom's passing, "Islands, Canoe Lake" was fittingly acquired by his artist friend  J.E.H. MacDonald of Thornhill. Jim's son, Thoreau inherited the sketch. You might recall that I used a quote from Thoreau as motivation to begin writing "Tom Thomson Was A Weatherman" many years ago. Thoreau MacDonald (1901-1989), wrote:

“Thomson’s work would be a fine study for some competent critic, but anyone attempting it should be familiar, not only with every phase of his work but with the country too, lakes, rivers, weather; have them in his bones … “

By descent, the art passed through several other hands before reaching those of  Robert McMichael of Kleinburg. In 1966,  the founders Robert and Signe McMichael gifted this painting to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and ultimately the people of Canada. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

PS: Tom Thomson Was A Weatherman - Summary As of Now contains all of the entries to date. 

PSS: The weather that Tom observed and painted occurs regularly in the atmospheric ocean. Here is the reality of the winter storm of February 23rd, 2023 approaching Singleton with the anticyclonic companion of the warm conveyor belt on the horizon.  

Wednesday morning February 22nd, 2023
Watch for the drift of the wind waves and point your Coriolis
fingers in that direction. Drifting contrails can be helpful as well.
Tom did not have jet contrails to monitor the atmospheric 
frame of reference winds in his day.

The corresponding cold conveyor belt was strong easterly
with very chilly winds. As a result, one could deduce that the
approaching low-pressure area was intense, slow-moving or both
Winter Storm Warnings were hoisted and verified.

The wind waves are most obvious when they are nearly perpendicular to the swells. This occurs near the leading edge of the warm conveyor belt (WCB) with the deformation zone. At the time of the cloud, a definitive assessment of the location with respect to the WCB can be made by simply observing the drift of the wind waves. The wind waves will move with the system relative winds relative to the col. Pointing your Coriolis fingers in the direction of that drift will reveal which companion and which side of the deformation zone col you are under. If there is no obvious lateral drift of the wind waves, you are more likely closer to the central axis of the WCB.  Such was probably the case for Thomson.

Phil Chadwick

The McElroys to the rescue - Tom Thomson's Petawawa Gorges; Night 1916

The McElroys come to my Rescue on Petawawa Gorges, Night

In 1976 when I graduated from Queens in Nuclear Physics, I was not aware of the friends that I would make forty years later in association with Tom Thomson. It turned out that several of my future Thomson friends were also involved in nuclear physics. Except for a twist of fate, I was also destined to go to Chalk River to study and work in the Nuclear Industry. Those friends would have been encountered that much sooner in Deep River and while paddling the Petawawa and the Dumoine.  One can only ride one horse at a time, and meteorology came along first, so I saddled up. There can be no looking back but I often wonder..

Meanwhile, in July of 1977, Jim and Sue Waddington began a 36-year journey of discovery that culminated with "In the Footsteps of the Group of Seven" in 2013. Jim even went to the same high school in Brockville, graduating from BCIVS in 1959.  Jim became a Professor of Physics at McMaster University with a specialty in Nuclear Physics. 

My prized, autographed copy of Jim and Sue Waddington's book

Diana and Bob McElroy began their investigations into the painting places of Tom Thomson in the 1980s. Bob McElroy also has a strong background in physics and worked at Chalk River. Diana and Bob have a large and significant web presence detailing the painting places of Tom Thomson. I found these sites to be invaluable when I was working on a previous Blog. 

Diana and Bob McElroy have paddled along Tom Thomson's path for decades 
and written and photographed extensively about their travels. Link

The spouses in these relationships were certainly equal partners in their life adventures as I can attest from my own personal experience. The wealth of information discovered by these teams on the art of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven is simply extraordinary. 

With great respect for their expertise, I presented the previous Blog "Tom Thomson's Petawawa Gorges; Night 1916" to Diana and Bob. The response was not what I hoped for: 

"Based on real-life observations, I don't really think the two sketches you looked at were done in the same place, though I certainly see one might think that. Something to consider is that the canyon is quite narrow, while the walls at the Natch are somewhat farther apart.  Of course, we can't know for sure and I may well be wrong.  One thing that always has to be taken into account when looking for Tom's painting locations is his penchant for changing the aspect ratio of the scene in order to (I assume) fit what he wanted to include in a sketch to the proportions of his painting surface."

And herein can be found the value of having "boots on the ground". Bob and Diana had paddled to all of those Thomson painting locations. One can learn a lot by simply listening.  I was all ears...

The McElroys "believe that the following sketch was painted at the Natch on the north Branch of the Petawawa River." With permission, I have reformatted their findings and reproduced them here to facilitate comparison.  

On their website, the McElroys diplomatically presented both possibilities for the painting discussed in "Tom Thomson's Petawawa Gorges; Night 1916": 

"Petawawa Gorges, Night" as photographed at the Natch above. 

• If "Petawawa Gorges, Night" was painted at "The Natch", it is looking downstream and it is probably before dawn. (The illustration above.)
• If "Petawawa Gorges, Night" was painted in the Barron Canyon, the view is looking upstream after sunset with no nearby campsite to retreat to. (The illustration below.)

The best match for "Petawawa Gorges, Night" within the Barron Canyon.

Their thoughtful and studied consensus was that "Petawawa Gorges, Night" was painted at The Natch at sunrise. The McElroy opinion confirms the meteorology of the previous Blog. Recall that I compared the direction of view in "Petawawa Gorges, Night" to another similar Thomson painting where the easterly viewing angle was easily deduced. My error was incorrectly matching those two views observed at different locations. 

Diana and Bob located the probable site of the painting
 that I mistakenly used to match "Petawawa Gorges, Night"
and those locations are very different. The above painting was on the Petawawa
River downstream from Brigham Chute - not the Natch. 

Vintage, Historical Map showing the canoe trip taken by
Tom Thomson and Ed Godin in August 1916 as well as the 
disparate location of the two paintings as described above. 

I find this information extremely illuminating. I must lament though that it would have been helpful if Tom Thomson had left us a few more clues to work with. However, the mystery that ensued might be some of the allure of his art. To be honest, I do not adhere to that "mystery argument" as being essential for Thomson's posthumous success and renown. Tom's art was more than strong enough to speak for itself. Many do believe that the intrigue has contributed to his fame including some of the Thomson family but I do not. Perhaps though, it is another mistake I am making by carefully documenting all of my art since 1967. 

I feel that Diana and Bob sum up the story of having boots on the ground (or paddles in the water to be more precise), very nicely:

"It had previously been our contention that most of the various Gorges of the Petawawa sketches were from the Barron Canyon and that at least reasonable matches could be found there. However, we were aware that a strong case could be made for Petawawa, Algonquin Park having been painted at The Natch on the north branch of the Petawawa River. In 2016 September, we travelled to the Natch to investigate further (see Trip Log - The Petawawa River from Lake Travers to McManus Lake).

On the basis of this visit, we have concluded that Petawawa, Algonquin Park and Petawawa Gorges, Night were painted there. If you are there with copies of the prints in hand you have no doubt that this was the painting location. But our photographs are not sufficient to prove the case. When you are there in person, your mind can see through the changes in vegetation and tolerate not being in the precise location in a way that it cannot do when only looking at photographs."

Petawawa Gorges, Night
Alternate titles: Coming of Night;
Sunset behind Cliff;
Fall 1916 Oil on wood 8 5/16 x 10 1/2 in. (21.1 x 26.7 cm)
Tom's Paint Box Size

So there you have it! Actual personal experience is invaluable. Diana and Bob confirm the meteorology and easterly direction of view at sunrise in "Tom Thomson's Petawawa Gorges; Night 1916". The fallout from that is the name of the painting should really be "Natch Sunrise" or something similar. Recall that Tom rarely signed and never named any of his plein air observations. That task fell to the shoulders of his friends and patrons - mostly Dr. James MacCallum and Lawren Harris. Like myself, neither Harris nor MacCallum had paddled the Petawawa canyon and was not terribly well qualified to name those works. It is difficult to know whether any of the future members of the Group of Seven contributed to the naming of Tom's work although they certainly helped to authenticate it after his death. 

It would have been so easy for Tom to scribble something informative on the back of each panel - but he would have certainly smeared oils on his hands. I have a system to do just that without ever touching the very wet paint. I wish that Tom and I could have painted together...

I wish to thank my fellow physicists for their investigative diligence and for tracking the painting places of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven. They have filled in a large number of blank pages in the art history of Canada. Kudos to the Waddingtons and the McElroys! Thank you...

Now on to more of Tom's art and meteorology in the next Blog. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

PS: Tom Thomson Was A Weatherman - Summary As of Now contains all of the entries to date. 

Tom Thomson's Petawawa Gorges; Night 1916

The application of Creative Scene Investigation (CSI) requires examining all the information. The data needs to be deciphered and mined for everything that it might reveal. My Thomson friend asked me to take a look at "Petawawa Gorges, Night, 1916". I had not included this painting in my "Tom Thomson Was A Weatherman" book or presentation since even though it displayed a low horizon there was not much weather in it. There were far many more cloud paintings that required sleuthing. However, every painting is another opportunity to learn and investigate what really motivated Tom so here goes... 

I was well aware of the plein air painting but was very surprised at what a more than superficial look revealed. 

Petawawa Gorges, Night
Alternate titles: Coming of Night;
Sunset behind Cliff;
Fall 1916 Oil on wood 8 5/16 x 10 1/2 in. (21.1 x 26.7 cm)
Tom's Paint Box Size

In late May 1916, Tom Thomson took a job as a fire ranger and reported to Achray, a park station at Grand Lake on the south branch of the Petawawa (now Barron) River. Tom worked with Edward Godin. Tom discovered that the fire ranger job got in the way of his art but he persevered hoping to get fired sooner or later.

Tom Thomson and Ed Godin August 1916 Canoe Trip

In August 1916, Thomson and Godin canoed from Achray on Grand Lake down the south branch of the Petawawa River to the Barron Canyon and then up the north branch of the river to Lake Traverse. Tom sketched 'The Capes' on the South Branch. The Capes are an old name for the highest point on the north wall of the Barron Canyon. On October 4th, Thomson was back at the Basin Depot. He left Algonquin to return to Toronto in late October or early November. This information was included in a letter from Ed Godin to Bronwyn Davies in 1930. 

I needed more information than this and perhaps I found it in "Petawawa Gorges Fall 1916".

Petawawa Gorges Fall 1916
Oil on wood 8 7/16 x 10 7/16 in. (21.4 x 26.5 cm)
McMichael Canadian Art Collection,
 Kleinburg (1981.9.2)

Tom's patron Dr. J.M. MacCallum (1860-1943) pencilled Petawawa October 1916 on the back of "Petawawa Gorges Fall 1916". Tom had paddled the area in August so he was aware of the striking beauty of the gorge and probably returned after his forest ranging was done for the season. Tom had written to Dr. MacCallum saying: "Have done very little sketching this summer as the two jobs don't fit in. ... When we are travelling two go together, one for canoe and the other the pack. And there's no place for a sketch outfit when you're fire ranging."

Lord Rayleigh won the Nobel Prize for Physics
in 1904 for discovering argon gas

The light in "Petawawa Gorges Fall 1916" revealed the facts behind its creation. Around midday on the Petawawa, the sun is high but in the southern sky. The sun near its highest angular elevation appears blindingly white while the sky is light blue. The direct beam from the sun travels through a minimum amount of the atmosphere. Even so, the shortest wavelengths of light is Rayleigh scattered by atmospheric molecules. That scattered light eventually is directed to our eyes and we see the sky as a light blue. That is the colour that Tom saw and recorded in Petawawa Gorges Fall 1916. 

The real story can be found in the shadows. The northward-facing side of the deep Petawawa Gorge would never see the direct beam from the sun. The shadowed wall of the gorge is our sundial and compass in this application of CSI. Tom was certainly looking easterly when he observed "Petawawa Gorges Fall 1916". 

Now let's compare these two paintings, both with "Petawawa Gorge" in their name. 

The silhouetted trees in "Night" match closely with those from the midday painting. Tom's sketch location was probably further back in the painting on the right but the direction of view is similar. Plein air artists are not cameras so Tom was possibly standing in nearly the same location but decided to compose the art differently. The freedom of expression enjoyed by artists permits much more flexibility over that of photographers constrained by the reality of the light. 

Use your Coriolis hand to visualize the rotation of
the Earth and the apparent changes in the location
of the stationary sun.
Hint: Use your right hand with your thumb
pointing up at the north pole. Your fingers then
curl in the direction of the Earth's rotation.

In any event, "Petawawa Gorges, Night" reaffirms that Tom was a morning person. The painting is actually of a sunrise looking toward the dawn and not a sunset as identified in the catalogue raisonné. The orange and pink hues of the rising sun were striking and worthy of being recorded in oils but can easily be confused with those of sunset. As I have recorded elsewhere, sunsets within the same air mass, tend to be more red than sunrise. The increased quantities of particulates dispersed into the lowest layers of air during the day by turbulent wind mixing and thermal convection are responsible for scattering more blue light out of the direct beam. at sunset. 

Tom was certainly looking toward the light of the sun. The glint of light from the water's surface also confirms this view. As well there was no darker "Belt of Venus" evident so Tom was not looking away from the light source (see "Tom Thomson's “A Northern Lake" Was the Belt of Venus Sunrise" for an explanation). 

The sunrise easterly view can be surmised by the science of light scattering as described but was certainly strengthened by comparison with other similar paintings that include the shadowed cliffs. There are several Thomson paintings of the Petawawa Gorge and the shadows are invariably on the steep slopes to the right revealing easterly views. The light of daytime is an excellent sundial and allows one to quickly discern the direction of view. 

The "fallout" from Creative Scene Investigation requires that "Petawawa Gorges, Night" along with the alternate titles "Sunset behind Cliff" and the "The Coming of the Night" need to be revised. The reality is that Thomson was a morning person and this painting was certainly a sunrise observation of light and shapes. 

After Tom's passing, "Petawawa Gorges, Night" was acquired by Vincent Massey in 1918 who later bequeathed the sketch to the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (15548) in 1968. Charles Vincent Massey (1887-1967) was a Canadian lawyer and diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 18th since Confederation. Massey was the first governor-general of Canada who was born in Canada after Confederation.

More than a hundred years have passed since Tom's premature death, so one can never have all of the facts. It would have been wonderful just to have asked Tom where he was and why he painted what he did. Continued exploration might reveal more evidence that could find CSI either right or wrong. It is our mission to gather all of the puzzle pieces that one possibly can. I certainly lament that Thomson could have saved a lot of scientific guessing if he only had jotted down a few details. 

With these thoughts, I recalled the work of Diana and Bob McElroy and their determined investigations while paddling in the footsteps of Tom Thomson - especially within the Petawawa Gorge. I had never stroked that waterway, so I decided to consult with the experts. Those amazing results will be revealed in the next Blog. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

PS: Tom Thomson Was A Weatherman - Summary As of Now contains all of the entries to date.