While the rains came down from Hurricane Irene, there was only one thing left to do while the lights remained on...paint. Before me, sat a wilting bouquet of sunflowers that needed some attention! What started out to be a painting of a sunlit sunflower in a field of them became a sunflower field at midnight. In the background is the barn that stands in the corner of the field and the mountains that line the evening sky.
Although scanning this little painting came out a lot lighter than the actual painting because of my use of cerulean blue. The cerulean blue appears as "light" on the paper, which is what I wanted; but I wish it didn't light up so much in the reproduction of it. The scanner light didn't do any justice to the painting.
I can only imagine what a field of sunflowers looks like at midnight under a moonlit sky. They are probably more blue-toned than I have made them in this one; but what the heck...maybe one day, I will try a plein air painting at the stroke of midnight under a harvest moon. I'll use my sunflowers as models that are growing in my garden...
I'll just need a little bug spray and a tiny flashlight just to be able to "see" what I'm painting.
Midnight on the sunflower field
4 x 6
Copyright 2011 Linda Young
Linda Young Watercolors
P O Box 941
Carlisle, Pa 17013
7 comments:
I love to see how much we were all affected creatively by those incredible fields of sunflowers last Tuesday. This is fabulous, Linda - really terrific!
If you ever go out to paint sunflowers at night, please give me a call. I would say we would need LOTS and LOTS of bug spray, and those lights you wear on your head when hiking (thank goodness I have some and knew where they were when we lost our power at 4AM today during Hurricane Irene!). It would be so much fun!
Claire, I think it would be fun to do too. I'll check on when the harvest moon is due and we'll see what we can work out. Those sunflowers really got under my skin!
Gorgeous blues and greens with a stunning pop of yellow.
This is lovely. Thank you for telling the story behind it.
At the Gettysburg Colony this past summer, we did a nocturne. Some people set up under street lights and others had a "head lamp". I will keep this idea in mind while making upcoming plans. ;) Check the moon schedule for October 15th and let me know what you find.
Painting under the light of the moon...I like it! Very nice Linda!
Woo, hoo... by the light of the silvery moon. Plein air here we come!
thank you Deborah, Mary Beth, Autumn and Debra for your comments.
Post a Comment