Celestial bodies

Since this was an unclouded day, here is a portrait of the celestial bodies in the night sky at about 10 pm, on December 1st facing west. First of all, the waxing gibbous moon, almost half full at 48 percent illumination. Next, the planet Uranus immediately above the moon. Then two stars, Markab (on the right) and Algenib (on the left) in the constellation Pegasus. Neptune is out of the picture, below the moon.


The layers of paint on this watercolor are many. I began with what looked black to me (in the dim light). Since that initial wash, I've put eight more glazes of color over the night sky. Each wash has to dry before the next is applied. Most were French ultramarine blue sometimes mixed with cobalt blue or alizarin crimson. So although I began this painting in the evening, I didn't finish it until the following evening.