Portfolio > 2022

Moon Tree
Moon Tree
oil on panel
20"x16"
2022

I was out walking in the moonlight when I passed this cluster of trees and started circling around to see it from all angles. I was next to my path home and the moon was so bright that night that ideas were everywhere for night paintings. When the moon was at the top of this group of trees the shadows came straight back at me and with the glowing road behind it I saw this as a painting. It's funny how sometimes an image looks worthwhile to explore, to sketch and consider, and how few of these ideas ever really make it onto a canvas or board. This one seemed to be an easy decision for me, though the process was a long running effort. How do you make that kind of moonlight glow? How do you treat the colors, and mostly how do you get the feel for the little cluster of trees? I went through several different attempts, both promising and fruitless to arrive at this stage. And it is just a stage after all, I could pick it up again and continue painting on it. I've been known to do that before!