Clear twilight sky

12/13/11 5:30 pm, facing southwest

Sometimes in the winter the atmosphere is so crisp and clear it seems like one can see forever. Last night was such an evening. 

Colors are enhanced by the clarity of the air. The warm glow of the earth was a sharp contrast to the coldness of space. The planets visible are Neptune above and Venus below. Venus has a slight pink glow.

I love the process of placing washes of color down, letting it dry, and then putting down another wash. The subtleties of the color change are intriguing. This watercolor has about eight layers of color, one atop the next.

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.