Dark Dawn

A warm conveyor belt associated with an approaching low pressure area was pushing northward across the Oak Ridges Moraine. Low level moisture moving with the flow was still dark while the sun illuminated the higher level sky. This low level cloud will dissipate quickly under the August sun but at dawn it looked really dark and dangerous. It wasn't but you really have to be a meteorologist or an experienced weather keener to figure it out. This sky meant that southern Ontario would get into the hot and humid weather again until the next cold front came along with thunderstorms. The cumulonimbus arrived just after I finished the painting the next day.

As for me, I liked the contrasting colours. I wanted to have fun with the paint! This is the view from the front yard (N43.95246 W79.74608) of Watershed Farm at dawn on Wednesday August 19th. I had to work largely from pictures as the sky changed too quickly. The colours changed by the minute.

Addendum. There were two bands of thunderstorms along the cold front. The second line was comprised of tornadic supercells. A F2 tornado destroyed the barn of my cousin Brad Oakley. No one was injured but the barn was leveled. A tornado also touched down near Vaughn Mills to the south of Watershed Farm. The back hill protected us from wind damage. There was one small branch down from the black willow. The sky told the story but no one was watching. The warnings did not precede the events...

Oils on medium burnt sienna oil tinted foundation on commercial canvas - 11 X 14 (inches)