The Story Behind..."Clair De Lune"

"Clair De Lune" 24x24 in. oil on wood panel. Available at Scott Milo Gallery.

This was such a fun piece to do. It was an attempt at a somewhat aerial perspective, so setting up the still life was really fun. It's like being in an airplane and configuring the landscape down below. Remember making dioramas and model projects in school? Those were my favorites, and also illustrating report covers, I loved it when that was part of the grade..hooray!

After finding a good composition and photographing to get ideas, I made my sketch and put down the first transparent layers. I'm thinking more shapes of color these days, rather than attempting to illustrate a scene. In my paintings, you won't be able to necessarily identify all edges. I am enjoying the exercise of using color and shapes relating to each other to create a mood and evoke emotions. 

I didn't have a title for the piece until the very end. Sometimes I'll go online and research the symbolism of the objects in the piece to get ideas for a title. But of primary concern is that the title must reflect the emotions of the painting. In this case, I realized I had been listening to a CD of music by Debussy the whole time, and "Clair De Lune" is one of my favorites. It creates a wonderful environment for getting lost in the creation of a painting. The melody of that song is so peaceful and romantic, it seemed to fit.