The moon in pastel

For those who have visited my blog from time to time over the last three years or so, my moon obsession has no doubt become familiar. I am one of those people who suffer from “full-moon-itis”. You know what I mean. It’s full moon and you’re wide awake, making art at 3 in the morning, or drifting idly round the house longing for sleep.

The moon is waxing gibbous,  74% of full tonight. I know this because I have a moon calendar so I can see, as well as feel, the moon’s phases. As I came home from work tonight the sky was clear blue, the 3/4 moon was up and there were parallel jet plane trails just underneath.

I grabbed my camera…and the results make me want to get out my pastels next weekend and attack some full sheets of Colorfix. I’ve had a quick play with these in Photoshop, cropping and colouring. In any form, the moon fascinates me and when the colours are inverted – wow!

Painting the full moon

How did I manage a peaceful night’s sleep at full moon? Light dinner with a friend, two small gin and tonics, and sheer exhaustion   It felt good to almost sleep right through the night, despite the silvery light of the full moon pouring in through the bedroom curtains.

Despite that, I couldn’t help but delve into my moon images for a quick play round with colours and layouts. Here’s one of my current favorites. I think it appeals to me because it’s dark and moody without being drab, I always enjoy purples, and it has a sense of unreality about it. By the way; is ‘unreality’ a word? Probably not…but I hope you know what I mean.

I have been wanting to experiment with adding Golden Interference Fluid Acrylics to my other paints, and this might be a good time to haul them out and onto my art desk. The reason I hesitate a bit to use them is that someone I went through art school with used them extensively for some amazing works, but found when it came time to exhibit them that it was rare to find lighting that suited them. Without appropriate lighting she felt the that often the whole point of the works was lost.

I think in my case though, the interference colours will be an added extra, rather than the main focus of the work. I’d like to try them as a bit of highlighting on top of some really dark glazes; indigo, purple and Atelier Interactive’s Red Black. Their tube Red Black is an amazing colour; I use it a lot - from deep and dark, to just a hint of colour mixed with white or titan buff. For me it’s a very versatile colour, and one I hope they keep producing for a while yet.  

Playing “what if?”

A good photocopier is a wonderful tool for artists. I have some photos of the moon, seen through long grass, that I use over and over again. Every now and then I spend some time and money playing with our work photocopier. At only $1 for a colour copy, it’s a bargain.

Playing with the photocopier means thinking about things like; how would this look as a negative? With the saturation turned right up? With the green turned right down?  Black and white with very high contrast?

Recently I copied a dozen pages of the same three photos. This picture is just one photo of the three on a page – so for only $12 I have 36 reference images. Cool, I hear you say, but why not just mess round in Photoshop?  Well, I do that too, but there’s something about seeing the immediate result come out of the copier, and then adjusting my choices accordingly, that is more satisfying and useful to me than only seeing the image on screen.

Different take on the moon theme

But still very much focused on the moon. This is the 5th of the series that should by now be in Auckland ready for display at the Mercure Hotels.

Lime moon

Here’s another in the moon series that is on its way to Auckland.

I’ve just signed up with a new gallery and want to send some small works down. So, I did a bit of shopping at the weekend from here and a box of wee canvases turn up on the courier today. Can’t wait to get into them this weekend

Apricot moon

More mooning around – this is varnished, signed etc and off to Auckland for an exhibition. Only got the packaging to go, and it will be on it’s way.

Full moon

I’m one of those people who are really affected by the full moon. Perhaps it is the light through our bedroom curtains, perhaps it is some tidal pull – who knows? What I do know is, come the full moon, I am *wide awake*, and likely to be found painting or emailing at 3am

One afternoon Mum and I drove down to the beach for a quick look round and, quite by accident, I got some amazing shots of the full moon in a bright deep-blue sky, seen through the long grass. I have used the images over and over and over; and will continue to do so. Here is the latest moon painting. This one is acrylic on 30×40″ gallery wrap canvas and is heading for exhibition in Auckland in September.

This ‘might’ be done – and the mess

Well, I did say I had art “stuff” everywhere – and I wasn’t joking. You can see what I mean about the bed being covered in paintings! And the winter light from the window is half blocked by my easel. Oh well…

On the plus side, I think I am happy with this large moon painting. Need to live with it for a few days and see if I stay happy. It’s a terrible photo by the way, but the best I can manage today.

Full-moon-itis

Full-moon-itis. It’s a common disease, but not often diagnosed!!! You know the one — full moon comes round, you’re wide awake all night, and you just gotta do something. In my case, I paint… Here’s my latest full-moon-itis offering to the gods of wakefulness.

4×8″ in quality acrylics on deep-edge stretched canvas. For sale at my Etsy shop.

80_365 : and more…

Okay, so I am a bit over the top with the moon thing, but it’s fun!!