SuperMoon Over the Yellowstone, 45

5: thoughts between paintings
What do you think of when you see the moon? I often think of William's Shakespear's lovely line from Romeo and Juliet:
"O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon, That monthly changes in her circled orb..."


4: the finished painting
Here it is. I took this painting into my studio to make some changes. It's now more colorful with more tonal contrasts and with some compositional changes too

MOON OVER THE YELLOWSTONE, original 20x9" oil painting by puci

3: creating the pre-painting composition (using Adobe Photoshop)
Again, since the painting was done directly from nature, I didn't create a preliminary composition. Many of the painters in the group knew about the super moon and were excited to paint it. I chose to head on down to the Yellowstone River, not far from our place. My beloved husband was with me as we watched the moon rise.  I had a tall panel ready to paint on, thinking it might be an interesting shape.

2: capturing the selected image

This is a Google Maps view of the area where I was painting, facing south.

1: planning the destination

I guess you can call this a companion post to the previous #44. This painting was also done as part of the outdoor painting event in Livingston MT.

The Absoroka Range~Montana, 44

5: thoughts between paintings
Montaña means Mountain in Spanish. This mountain range, The Absarokas, is a name referring to the Crow Nation, or "Apsaalooke" in their own Siouan language and more specifically means "children of the large-beaked bird".


4: the finished painting
I definitely didn't labor over this little painting. The color tone of the foreground grass helped me to quickly establish all the other colors. This painting has been sold.

ABSOROKA RANGE, original 7x9" oil painting by puci

3: creating the pre-painting composition (using Adobe Photoshop) 
Although I don't have a pre-painting composition because the painting was done "en plein air" (in the open air), I do have a photo I took of the scene I painted. (I was seated at a picnic table looking south.) A good-natured passerby stepped into my line of view as I was painting, took a funny stance and said "painting bomb". We laughed. 

2: capturing the selected image

This is a Google Street View taken near the painting site, Sacajawea Park in Livingston Montana.

1: planning the destination

We recently moved to beautiful Southwest Montana, and I took part in an annual outdoor painting event. In this post, I'd like to share a bit of the experience with you.