{Summer Moonset}

Painting is an adventure that wanders down unexpected paths. I finished the painting I was working on this week, originally titled Sea of Words, but somewhere along the way it transformed into Summer Moonset! Last month we took a long road trip to Texas and as twilight began to fall a gorgeous moon appeared and began to slide below the horizon, a moonset. That image stayed in my mind and as I began to paint the background on my canvas I simply knew that I had to add a huge sliver-leafed moon to it. Sea of Words is still floating around in my brain, but evidently that's a painting for another day. 

This the 2nd layer of the painting that began with old book pages and cheesecloth inspired by my Monday Moods theme of Sea of Words. I found the book about sailing and the old typewriter book during the 400 mile yard sale earlier in June. That was an adventure in itself! Instead of plain white gesso, I decided to use Matisse Background Colors in Winter Blue and Antique Blue.

The next layer began with a palette of Golden Acrylics: Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue, Hansa Yellow Medium, and Cadmium Red Hue. The yellow and red mixed with white and a bit of Acrylic Glazing Medium created a dreamy orange undercoat that I topped with Ultramarine Blue mixed with Titanium White. Those last two colors also created beautiful tints for the waves. To add a bit of glimmer, I spritzed the painting with Heidi Swapp Color Shine in Teal and Peach and was surprised and delighted by the resulting spatters! Titanium White paint tapped along the curves of the cheesecloth created foamy waves.

And then my favorite element, the huge silver-leafed moon! I used a plate to trace a circle onto a piece of kraft card stock, layered on some Golden Regular Gel Semi-Gloss, and after a minute or so applied some silver leaf. The process required several layers and I deliberately left some spots bare for more texture. I wanted a reflection of the moon in the waves, so I trimmed a piece off the bottom and used the Gel Medium to attach both pieces. Creating this mixed-media painting was so exciting because I just splashed and spritzed and snipped and pasted and enjoyed the process!

I created this painting as an entry in the Blick Spirit of Summer Window Show in Evansville, IN, and I'm happy to announce that my entry was accepted! The show begins June 30th with an opening reception and runs through July 7th.  I can't wait to see all the other entries!