If you have ever taken a moonlit stroll when the moon was full and the sky was clear, then you know the feelings that came along with this painting. Having painted a lighter, more nostalgic version, then a darker, more turbulent version, here I wanted to paint the calm serenity of a night basking in the glow of a full moon, where the landscape is lit up almost like day, and the breeze gently stirs the leaves like secrets being whispered among the dark forms of the trees.
I love walking at night--the fresh, cool night air waking the senses as the crickets go on with their rhythmic call and response chirping through the fields and the woods, the vastness of the starlit sky overhead stealing the show from the shadowed landscape beneath. This makes me want to paint more night scenes.
The tree in the upper left corner was used again in this composition to help balance and temper the focus of the moon and the blue of the sky, as well as to aid the eye in moving through the painting. Here again you can see in the detail the use of the dry brushing to accentuate the linear movements of the gesso drawing underneath the painting.
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