Capturing Magic in Paintings

People love art because of the magic. We all know the magical feeling we have inside when witnessing something spectacular in real life. It takes an artist to capture that magic in a painting or photograph.

Back in October 2013, I saw the most amazing moonscape as I was standing on my back porch. I happened to have my new camera in my hand since we were coming home from a Little Theatre performance, so I took a chance and snapped a shot. I was so happy I was able to capture that lovely moment, in a limited way, since our eyes and feelings add to the moment.

So I decided to try and capture the magic of that moment with my paints. I based it off of this photo, but also off of my memory and what I see when I close my eyes. This photo shows a hint of color through the clouds, but I remember more pinks and blues and sparkles around the edges.

I zoomed into the scene a bit for the painting – the camera was zoomed as far as it would go to get the above photo – I wanted the moon to have more detail and be more prominent. Then I slowly built up the layers of colors, creating the rich dark areas out of greens, violets, and midnight blues. Clouds are always moving and changing, so I gave them soft edges to give the impression of floating.

For now, I will be selling signed, original, unframed art on Etsy. Eventually I plan to offer a selection of mattes, frames, and prints or giclees as well. I’m in this for the long run, not trying to make a quick buck, but building an art legacy, so I don’t mind waiting and taking this day by day and step by step.