This image of sea ice forming in cloudy Patten Bay was taken two days before Christmas Day near the end of a cold spell here, when the 7:30 a.m. temperature was 19 ° (F) on the day it was taken.
The ice never fully formed because we’ve been in a warm and wet spell since Christmas. (It’s 36° and raining again now, as I write at 6:45 a.m.) However, special winter days such as the one shown here, when the cloud-veiled sun is trying to find us, provide lasting memories of extraordinary lighting effects that will get me through until the New Year.
Many of the best outdoor artists whose works I have seen (especially J.M.W. Turner and Andrew Wyeth) seem to have tried valiantly to capture in watercolors (and some oils) the monochromatic magic of a cold, cloudy, sun-probed sky. However, in my limited experience, I’ve never seen a work that has captured the sometimes-soul-touching cloudy-day scenes that my eyes have seen.
(Image taken in Surry, Maine, on December 23, 2023.)