Nearly full moon, cool evening

The plan was to head out on the evening of November 5th to paint the full moon, however, the forecast was overcast and possibility of rain. So I headed out on the evening of November 4th, with the moon at 97.4% full, 62 degrees in the sky, and partly cloudy skies according to timeanddate.com. The moon angle was so high actually, it seemed to be almost directly overhead. In this view, I am looking up at the moon which is shining through the clouds. A number of techniques had to come together to make this painting work...its been a lot of nights out painting the moon. 

Full moon through clouds, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, November 2025

Catching this view of the moon over the demoed mall on Côte Saint-Luc, I made a painting of the pile of rubble illuminated by the moon, with an apartment in the background. By embellishing some of the highlights on the edge of the building and debris, it gives the illusion of illumination. Most of the local light was actually from the LED overhead lamps that are quite strong. 

Full moon over demoed mall, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, November 2025

Painting night skies is quite a challenge, in this example I left tiny dots of paper showing through to convey the Orion constellation which was visible over the Glen Hospital. The paint streaked in a funny way, but I kind of like the effect. Its not often I get to see stars in Montreal. 

Orion over hospital, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, November 2025

Looking towards the top of the radio tower, and the moon was passing over its top. I chose the tough route for this one by applying the shape of the tower first, then painting the sky in between the spaces. In retrospect, I could have done the whole moon and sky first, then over-painted the tower with yellow ochre. Its a question of whether the paint dries in time or not...these paintings are done in one go. It worked out pretty good though, and the red lights pop against the cool blue background. I left a small dot of paper showing through at the center of the red light to give the impression of it being bright. 

Full moon radio tower, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, November 2025