Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Starlight oil painting

Starlight - oil on wood - 8 x 8 inches
Was it last night or the night before? ... I was floating in the hot-tub, the stars above me were so  incredibly bright. I noticed that around each was a halo of lilac, pink and gold.

I had begun two paintings both featuring night skies a few weeks ago, but they were languishing. I hadn't been able to connect the sky to the very dark earth below.  But...after studying those stars whilst in the tub i thought: 'why not play up the halos around the stars in my night sky and find a way to somehow connect them to the landscape using similar tones? So this is what happened here. The effect turned out rather jolly ...and(ahem!, this was a surprise...) a little like Van Gogh's 'Starry Starry Night'!   I'll bet he too, studied the halos around the stars one bright night many moons ago. 

The blue I used for the sky was "Indian Blue" which is a blue i inherited from a friends old paint box when she moved.  I've not used it before. It is very intense, but has good power for a night sky.  I'm happy because it turned a very static solemn painting into one of celebration and movement.

12 comments:

  1. Wow Sally,

    It's glorious. We were at my brother's place looking at the stars the other night. So inspiring.

    XO Barbara

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  2. Sally!
    Fantastic!
    Spectacular!
    Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful thought process and problem solving techniques!
    Michael

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  3. Hi Barbara,
    Thank you! Yes the sky was so clear then! i love looking at the stars.

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  4. Michael,
    Thank you! how nice it is to have such an enthusiastic response. i appreciate it.

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  5. So lovely. You have captured that soft light so beautifully.

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  6. Good morning Sarah, and thank you for your comment! by the way, i just turned on 'word verification' for my comment box this morning because i was getting spam...so hopefully it will not cause a problem for my regular blog readers to comment.

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  7. Hi Sally, you have been very prolific since my last visit! I love this painting - it does have a Starry Nightish feel to it, but in your own lovely style.
    Star gazing is such a wonderful thing to do - and no doubt even more so whilst in your hot tub.

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  8. I LOVE this one!!! It is sooo dreamy. I feel like im out in the open field taking in the stars! What a wonderful painting...and yes, very much a take on Van Gogh's Starry Starry night~ Sooo beautiful.

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  9. Hi Sally--Visiting your blog for the first time ever. I love so much of your work-especially your abstract pieces. This one is awesome. Fun and happy!

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  10. Hi Wendy,
    Nice to hear from you, and thanks! Yes it's my month to be prolific, too cold outside to get involved with my garden, and an upcoming show in March is keeping me pressed into action! But it's a great time to work on inventory.

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  11. Hi Holly,
    Lovely to have your comment sweetie. I thought you might like the dreamy atmosphere in this one. I did another one too, but it didn't work out,colours got muddy... gonna paint over that one.

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  12. Hi Stephanie!
    I love hearing from a new blog buddy! Welcome to my blog... and thank you for your kind comments. Abstract is fairly new for me, but i know i will explore more.

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