Moonlight on Le Chemin des Ecoliers, ©John O’Grady, 2013
Oil on Panel, 5″x 7″

Not for Sale

What is it about moonlit scenes or as Whistler called them, Nocturnes?
The special quality of light, the drama and calm atmosphere it evokes?

On the way back home from Clansayes to Vaison la Romaine via the plateau de Clansayes, a small village in Drome Provencale, I stopped to admire the full moon.  As it is in the countryside with little ambient light, the landscape is striking.

Back in the studio, I set out to capture what I felt and depict the subtle colours that come to mind when thinking about a full moon: silver whites, grey purples, cool turquoise blues and the way they contrast with the silhouetted foliage and illuminated grasses.

As I was progressing with the painting,  the dark mass of the trees evolved to frame the moon in an arch. To balance the cool turquoise blue in the field, I made the sky a warmer blue.

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