March's Amazing Full Moon

Remember the amazingly large full moon in March?  The one that we will not see again so large and full until 2029? Here are some sketches and one painting. I'll add more paintings as I complete them.


Moonrise with Boyscouts
To view the moonrise, I went for a hike on a ridge near Morrison, CO that overlooks the eastern horizon. Along the way, I happened upon a troop of boyscouts with the same purpose for being on the ridge as me. They invited me to join them and I got to observe them "rock hop," make silly comments we've all enjoyed at some time in our lives (the people look like ants, the cars like toys, hey... I can squish downtown Denver with my fingertips!), and squawked along with the loud and clumsy symphony composed by a troop of exited nine-year-old boys.

After a long and sometimes precarious walk at the ridge's apex, we picked a spot and as we waited for the moonrise they practiced their knot-tying and I pulled out a bic pen and began sketching the landscape. 

I drew everything in the dark, without as much as a flashlight to help. The purpose? To rely only on the light emanating from the moon. That evening yielded two sketches of the moonrise, one with the moon behind the needles of a Ponderosa Pine tree and another of the moon rising on the horizon with the lights and roads of Denver in the foreground. I drew with ballpoint pen, highlighter, and sharpie in the dark. 

Here are the sketches. When I paint them, I'll upload them to this post ~ so do check back! 

Sunrise Moon with My Cat, Kitomaru

As a naturally early riser, I of course made sure to be up for the moon to set over the mountains in the west. My view of the entire Front Range of the Rocky Mountains ~ from Long's Peak clear south past Castlerock ~ from the back porch is an endless source of peace and blessing. 


As usual, Kitomaru was by my side participating in what I was doing. When I'm painting, he is under the low table that I work on. When I'm typing, he is on my lap. And when I'm scribbling in a notebook, he is at my feet ~ though lately he likes to watch me do this from on top of the refrigerator. 


The moon's decent was so beautiful but what was just amazing was when the sun began to rise. The moon stayed the same yellowish-white color, but everything changed around it. The sky went from black to navy blue, the mountains turned purple (which, btw, inspired the lyrics in  America the Beautiful that mentions "purple mountains majesty"), and Kitomaru jumped up on the railing to watch it all happen with me. I hear cats are colorblind, so I think what he really wanted was to watch the birds wake up. 


Just yesterday, I took the sketch I had done in March and painted this little acrylic piece to send to my Grandmother for Easter. The poem that accompanies it is specially written for Artfully in Full Bloom. 

      

      Kitomaru's Sunrise Moon

 
      My purple morning mountains
      My sky of rose at dawn
      My little haven
                My moon-viewing terrace
      My moment. 
      But no, it was his too
      Kitomaru's Sunrise Moon.







I hear that blogs are the place where total honesty is possible, so I'll tell you that this was my first time painting with acrylics EVER. How'd I do? I like comments and feedback, and this little adventure has inspired me to start a six-week class in acrylic next Thursday. 

 Thanks for enjoying this moment with me!