We have had some beautiful Summer evenings lately here in the UK. Summer has arrived at last and at the end of the day when everything is quiet even our rather scruffy garden looks so lovely in the moonlight!
There is usually a soft breeze which sways the branches of the trees and the shamefully overgrown grass and the large golden Harvest Moon makes everything looks magical.
I wanted to capture the way that the moonlight shines in cool, silvery slivers on everything it touches, only just highlighting the textures of nature and making us imagine the shapes still in shadow.
I'm not very good at drawing faces. I usually avoid them and draw something else instead. But as I usually encourage my students to be fearless I thought I'd take my own advice and try painting a moonlit face on a black background.
I started with a wash of black acrylic on watercolour paper followed by a wash of metallic gold and bronze to give a bit of shimmer.
Then I painted the face with a wash of thinned white. I wanted the darkness to provide the shadows. The rest of the paper was filled with plant shapes in the same wash of white. The brush still had a bit of gold on it so there are yellowy hints in there too.
I then had a lovely time back in my comfort zone, with my trusty white pen, doodling in all the moonlit highlights.
I'm quite pleased with it! I like the way the gold peeks through the white wash to give it some depth and just a little bit of shimmer.
Here is a close up of the eye so you can get a better look at the layers.
Another year has flown by and we are all poised at the start of 2015 wondering what this year has waiting for us. For those of us with worries and health issues it may have been quite good to wave goodbye to 2014 and to look forward with hope to a new year.
It can be quite scary not knowing what challenges are ahead but it also feels like a fresh page is waiting to be decorated with the colours of life. Sometimes those unexpected events can also show us how blessed we are and may lead to exciting changes that we wouldn't have been brave enough to make for ourselves.
I wish you a New Year that soars to new heights of happiness, hope, good health and good fortune. I wish you exciting adventures and the comfort of knowing how priceless it is to have wonderful family and friends.
This little New Year Dove is painted with white gesso onto a background of black gesso and gold acrylic paint. The gesso was straight out of the pot and painted in directional strokes for the feathers and swirls for the background which gives it lots of texture. If you have a moment have a little play with making textures with gesso and stuff you have lying around like plastic cutlery, wine corks, cardboard rolls, or a cocktail stick. It is a great way to prepare a new sketchbook and cover your blank pages in readiness for the colours of a new year of art. xx
