On the way back from Verdun I rode past the powerstation and was struck by the low hanging crescent moon. I kept riding and thought, I would be crazy to not try and paint that. Armed with my trusty headlamp, I set up my bike on the sidewalk opposite the scene and started the painting. It quickly looked like a total disaster of a painting, but I knew that these night scenes take time to develop... once all the white parts of the paper are covered the illusion becomes apparent. It also takes some practice to understand and trust which mixtures will work. I had trouble with the sky- it is dark blue at the top (PB60 + PBk6) and fades to a lighter colour of cyan (PB60 + PBk6 + PB15 + PG7). To paint that while maintaining the shape of the moon, which is just the paper, was tricky. For some reason the moon has a glowing aura which I quite like but it wasn't intentional. The power station was done with a neutral orange, overlaid with dark red brown, and the fence in the front was the classic mix of burnt sienna and blue (PR101 + PB60). Finally the pointy (oak?) tree was done with a mix of carbon black and blue-green (PBk6 + PG7). There is an obvious homage to Van Gogh's Starry Night here, minus the stars.
Crescent Moon over Power Station, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, July 2023 (No. 3488b)
Beautiful scene đ
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