We’re about a quarter done with the A to Z Challenge!

Today we have:

H is for Hoarefrost Dragon

Look at this beautiful specimen!  This is a painting by Ruth Thompson called Hoarefrost.  He certainly looks prickly enough to live up to the name, and I love the royal purple color against the snowy white background.

Usually spelled “hoarfrost” especially in the U.S., the icy phenomenon is well described on the Weather Channel‘s website, including some neat photos:

First, to produce any frost, you need water vapor (gaseous form of water) in the air over cold ground with a surface dew point at least as cold as 32 degrees.

When these water vapor molecules contact a subfreezing surface, such as a blade of grass, they jump directly from the gas state to solid state, a process known as “deposition”, leading to a coating of tiny ice crystals.

So what provides the boost for frost to grow into hoarfrost like this?

Generally speaking, you want a much more moist air mass in place. In late fall, winter or early spring, one or more days in a row of freezing fog (fog with air temperatures of 32 degrees or colder) is a perfect scenario.

With more moisture in the air, the interlocking crystal patterns of frost become more intricate and much larger, building up to a greater depth on tree branches, signs, fences, anything. This is hoarfrost.

If there is a light wind, the hoarfrost can accumulate on the downwind side of objects.

Hoarfrost and fall foliage on 10/19/15 near Corning, NY. (Photo credit: Colleen Hart/The Weather Channel FB page)

Trees are covered in snow and hoarfrost on 12/30/10 in Sieversdorf, Germany. (Photo credit: Patrick Pleul/AFP/Getty Images)

Brr.  I really hope we see spring soon!  Here in Minnesota, we’ve had a few nice days, but lately it’s been cold and we even had snow again yesterday! No accumulation, thank goodness, but it was still depressing to see.

But getting back to art, Ruth Thompson’s site has so many more paintings for sale that you should really take a look: more dragons and fantasy art, as well as knights, fairies, and even religious artwork featuring angels.  This was another of my favorites, called Faerie Witch of Cats.  So many cats!

Tomorrow is Sunday, so no A to Z post, but tune in again on Monday to see how week two begins!  Stay creative!

Image credits:
Hoarefrost by Ruth Thompson
Fairie Witch of Cats by Ruth Thompson