Clouds at the Cole Gallery

Last Saturday, the clouds marched into Edmonds, Washington. The Edmonds Bookshop hosted me for a noon-time presentation on my book, A Sideways Look at Clouds. I arrived a bit early at this wonderful independent bookstore, browsed for a bit, and one of the bookstore staff members lead me next door to the Cole Gallery. As if there weren't enough clouds in the sky or in my book...here was a gallery full of clouds, part of an exhibit entitled  "Color, Light, and Atmosphere--Luminous Landscapes" featuring the works of Amanda Houston and David Marty.

I was thrilled to have so many paintings in one big room, rather than have to chase down the clouds in paintings displayed in multi-storied, multi-roomed art museums. No one would disagree with me that most of the paintings on display were of clouds, even though the exhibit was described as, "Stunning skies, glowing sunsets, quiet lakes and sunlit forests are part of the varied subjects in our latest show featuring a beautiful collection of landscape paintings..."

What? We know what makes the sky stunning. Clouds. We know what makes the difference between a ho-hum sunset and a spectacular one. Clouds. We know what often makes a landscape painting luminous. Clouds.  As I've said here and elsewhere, we should really call them cloudscapes and cloudsets. 

Terminology aside, Amanda Houston really gets the clouds. By chance, this Willamette Valley artist was in the Cole Gallery when I stopped in last Saturday, so I got the pleasure of meeting her and hearing about her fascinating with clouds in the Pacific Northwest. 

Just look at this stunning oil painting (36 x 48) called "Breaking Through." There's the dark clouds in the distance looking somewhat stable and then there are the brighter, peach-hued close-up clouds that are doing something more dynamic.

Upon closer inspection, it looks like the clouds have been swept. This is exactly the look of clouds that are trailing precipitation--known as virga--as they deteriorate after a storm. Virgo evaporates in the atmosphere and never reaches the ground. 

Look even closer at the artists brush strokes and you'll see--or feel, really--that she has captured the crazy energy of these clouds. Energy as lines and energy as color. Look how many colors she has included in her clouds. If you saw this detail of "Breaking Through" you might not guess that you're seeing a cloud. They should be white or gray or pink you might say. Well, sometimes they are but the more you look (and this is the goal of my book, after all) the more you will see that clouds capture all the colors of the rainbow. 

And that Amanda Houston has captured one of the many spectacular moments in the life of a cloud. She has matched the intensity of this skycape with and intensity of her artistic vision.

So...if you find yourself in charming downtown Edmonds, Washington, be sure to stop by Edmonds Bookshop (they have signed copies of A Sideways Look at Clouds) and the Cole Gallery next door. "Color, Light, and Atmosphere--Luminous Landscapes" is on exhibit until February 12. 

"Sideways" on Tour

As if on cue, the clouds returned to the Pacific Northwest as Mountaineers Books' released my new book, A Sideways Look at Clouds. The clouds never do anything on cue, so their timing is notable here. (Even stranger, Hurricane Maria made landfall as I was starting my book tour).

The clouds have been dramatic this fall and I've been on the road encouraging readers to look up and enjoy the every-changing drama in the skies at bookstores and other venues in Olympia, Seattle, Bellingham, Marysville, Kirkland, Portland, and Washington, DC. (Check out my events calendar for upcoming talks and book signings).

More than talking about my book and sharing some of my photos of the spectacular clouds we have in the Pacific Northwest, I've loved answering their questions about clouds: How exactly does it rain? When is a cloud a "cloud" and when do you call them "clouds?" Why do we have so many clouds here? What's the deal with high and low pressure? Are clouds changing? I am going to create a FAQs page to answer all of these and more.

I've also loved hearing people's stories about clouds. Here is one story (handwritten) and delivered to me at the 2017 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) trade show by Mary Anne Fraser, manager of Brilliant Moon books in Shelton.

"100 years ago, when I'd just turned twelve, I spent met hard-earned babysitting wages on a small Kodak camera. Within an hour the complete roll was filled and my mom (knowing how excited I'd been about this long-awaited purchase) offered to take the roll to our local "Pay and Save" to have my photos developed.

The week-long wait was finally over and I ran to the car to discover what my new hobby had delivered. Before I could open the obviously already opened packet, my mom said to me in a rather disappointed voice: "They're all clouds."

I looked at her, waiting for the rest of the observation ("They're beautiful." "I love the one that looks like an otter." "What an artist's eye you have.") but, alas, that was the sum total of her opinion.

I, on the other hand, was thrilled. Yes, they WERE all clouds."

While in Portland, I visited KATU-TV to talk with Helen Raptis on "AMNW" and Tra'Renee Chambers on "Afternoon Live" and also with Jefferson Smith, host of "XRAY in the Morning" (skip to 1:54:48) before my talk at Powell's on Hawthorne

After my interview on "Afternoon Live," the on-set photographer, Mark Plut, showed me photographs of his two recent paintings--of clouds!  "I too am fascinated by clouds," Mark told me, "especially how to paint them." In the first painting, Mark as painted a sky washed with what look like cirrostratus clouds to me. In the second painting, the landscape is transformed by more dynamic cumulus and altocumulus clouds. What a difference, eh? Thank you, Mark!

And because you can never have too many clouds--or paintings of clouds--in the Pacific Northwest, I went on a cloud hunt at the Portland Museum of Art. What a bonanza of clouds! Here is a gallery of a few of my favorites. 

Oskar Kokoschka/Tuileries Gardens, Paris; George Inness/Apezzo Pass, Titian's House; Joe Goode/Torn Cloud Painting; Robert Henri/Rue de Rennes; Robert Goonough/Grey Development; N.C. Wyeth/Rip Van Winkle, endpaper illustration; [forgot to photograph the label of the skyscrapers in the clouds--ooops]; George Michel/Landscape; ibid/detail of cloud

REMEMBER....EARTH WITHOUT ART is JUST "EH"

Speaking of...I'll be signing books at the 37th Annual  Wild Arts Festival at Montgomery Park in Portland, OR. The festival runs November 18-19 and benefits the fabulous Audubon Society of Portland. I'll be there Sunday noon-4 p.m. along with 36 other authors (and more than 200 artists) whose work is inspired by nature.

Sideways Plus #2: +Cloud+

This second "Sideways Plus" post offers an excerpt from "Cloud," the second chapter of my new book, A Sideways Look at Clouds, and illustrations and resources related to the chapter.

"I recognized a cloud when I saw one of course, but I couldn't explain what made a cloud a cloud and not something else, such s smoke, haze, steam, or mist. I knew clouds were made of water and that they floated, but so did icebergs. What kind of water were clouds made of? Was it plain old water--H20--or something more special? Was fog a cloud? What were the defining features of a cloud?."

"From twelve different sources, I copied out twelve different definitions of "cloud." I marked the words that appeared in at least three of the definitions. Ten key words emerged: visible, mass, water, droplets, ice, crystals, suspended, atmosphere, above, earth. By adding a few prepositions and articles, I created a new definition: 'A cloud is a visible mass of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere above the earth.'...Each word felt like a stepping-stone--no, more like a door. A door I could open. A door I could wanter through to find my way into the clouds."

The Danger Zone: Click here for information on the free, two-hour SkyWarn Weather Spotter Training offered by National Weather Service (NWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Local classroom training and online training are offered. Click here to hear the song that accompanied the time-lapse sequences of "menacing" clouds shown during my training course. The poor clouds! 

Luke Howard (1772-1864). This man brought order to the chaos of the skies when he introduced the Latin names for the clouds in 1802.

Order a copy of The Invention of Clouds: How an Amateur Meteorologist Forged the Language of the Skies, by Richard Hamblyn. This story of Luke Howard (a chemist and lifelong cloud watcher) answers the question: Why did it take so long to name the clouds? 

Get lost in the clouds by following this link to the International Cloud Atlas. This new digital edition was released in March 2017 by the World Meteorological Organization and is the gold standard for professional meteorologists, for those working in aeronautical and maritime environments, and for the amateur cloud-watcher.

The Cloud Appreciation Society is a web-based organization for cloud lovers around the world. On blue-sky days, you can find all the clouds (photos, poems, science, history) you'd ever want here. Become member and get a cloud a day in your inbox. 

My three go-to books for identifying clouds:

Next Sideways Plus post will feature the  "Visible" chapter. 

"Delightful" says Library Journal!

"Author Ruth (Rare Bird), who has penned nature books for adults and children, here turns her eyes to the sky in this delightful exposition on clouds. As a new resident of the Pacific Northwest, Ruth was surprised that her friends and neighbors didn't know much about the weather they experienced daily. Beginning with the word cloud, the author explores the mythology around the origin and meaning of the word. Ruth presents her own simplified definition based on numerous textbook characterizations. She then examines each aspect of that definition, from mass to visibility to water and air. Readers will learn about glories, lennies, caps, and sundogs as well as how clouds are seeded, formed on other planets, and created by human activity. Ruth describes the science behind cloud formation, movement, and identification clearly for general audiences; her personal experiences and asides enrich the well-explained technical details.

VERDICT A great recommendation for popular science readers, this book will also appeal to those who enjoy memoirs and learning about the writing process.—Catherine Lantz, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago Lib."