Wolf Moon 2014

Such a beautiful moon!  Dale and I paused at a little park on our way home from the Oregon Coast.  The sun had set, but pinks and blue-greys still filled the sky.  A big, beautiful moon peered at me from behind a veil of alder.  I knew the moon was a little high in the sky for it to be the night of the full moon, but it looked full.  Technically it was the night before the full moon. 

I scribbled a quick sketch with color notes in my sketch book and promised myself I would paint it.  I suppose I painted the moon a little large … but that is how it talked to me.  When I was nearly finished with my painting I looked up January’s moon to find out what title it has – several, but I like “Wolf Moon” the best.  I was a little chagrined to find it is technically a ‘mini moon,’ i.e. the smallest moon of the year, 16 % smaller than the largest moon of the year.  Ah well. 

An African moon - Maree

Black ink sketch using Pilot Calligraphy Lettering pen and Artline200 black fine-point pen on DaleRowney 220gsm heavy-duty sketching paper

It was full moon last night and when I switched off the garden lights, my garden was bathed in a golden glow… and I could’ve sworn I saw the fairies hiding under the mushrooms... 

One website explains the full moon thus, “The moon and sun are on a line, with Earth in between. It’s as though Earth is the fulcrum of a see-saw, and the moon and sun are sitting on either end of the see-saw. Thus as the sun sets in the west, the full moon rises. When the sun is below our feet at midnight, the full moon is highest in the sky. When the sun rises again at dawn, the full moon is setting.”

::

February Moon

I stepped outside shortly after it got dark tonight.  There, above me, just barely peeking through a gap in heavy cloud cover was the moon.  It looked full, though I know technically it isn’t.  It wouldn’t be so high in the sky at about 6:30 p.m. if it was full.  Who cares!  I pause and enjoy the moon whether it is a sliver, a peek, or full blown glorious.  All too often at this time of year I get no chance to see it because of the cloud cover.  

This one inspired me to grab a sheet of watercolor paper and capture it.  I wasn’t getting the blacks as black as I wanted ... so I added a  ink to the darkest clouds.  

Journal Sketches from the Midwest...

Of course I had to try my hand at that "SuperMoon."  We hopped in the car in our nightclothes and drove up the hill for a better look!  It just glowed...30% brighter and 14% larger-appearing at its perigee, closest to the earth.

Just before Full Moon - Maree

“How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank.
Here will we sit, and let the sounds of music
Creep in our ears; soft stillness, and the night
Become the touches of sweet harmony.”
- William Shakespeare

At the moment, here in the Southern Hemisphere, we're in a Waxing Gibbous moon, 97% lit, and full moon will be tomorrow on the 10th Nov at 8:18 PM. Last night the moon was huge and bright and cast an eerie glow over our next door neighbour's property. I was SO wishing for an owl in one of the trees! lol!

Harvest Moon Eve and 9-11 Anniversary

Love my new booklight!

Just before calling it quits....

Waning Sturgeon Moon - Pam Johnson Brickell

Waning Sturgeon Moon, a photo by PJBee on Flickr.

Thunderstorms prevented an evening painting of this months Full Moon, but I sure enjoyed seeing it this morning - 97% full is okay with me. I ran back in the house for my journal and paints. A great way to start the day!

Full Strawberry Moon • 6.15.2011

Full Strawberry Moon • 6.15.2011, a photo by PJBee on Flickr.

I love when the high tide and a full moon coincide.

One more journal page of this event at Artist's Journal Workshop blog and the full story on my blog.

May's Full Flower Moon - Pam Johnson Brickell

On the eve of May's full moon, Rob and I were walking the dogs along holes 17 and 18 of the neighborhood golf course when the moon rose above the tree line.  It was so lovely with the reflection on the small pond that runs between the 17th fairway and 18th tee. I decided this is where I wanted to  paint the full moon.

Now, I know the moon rises later each night but somehow didn't think it would be pitch black when it did!  We arrived around 8 pm. I sketched the glow from the sunset.  We waited and waited. I took the golf cart back to the house to get my flashlight. Still no moon.  Finally we saw it peeking from behind the trees. In my boredom I had started to paint the foreground, but in reality when the moon came up the only brightness in the landscape was the reflection on the water, the sky and the clouds around the moon.

Rob was able to capture me painting while holding the flash light.  I'm always amazed at my little camera and what it can pull off :)

Here's what I got done before the bugs got too hungry.

I'm working with watercolor paper that I've cut down to 7.5 x 11 inches and folded these sheets in half. One of these days I need to bind the pages together.

The sunset sketch is on Fabriano HP and the full moon is on Fabriano soft press.  I like lettering on the HP surface the best so I kept that side free for the moon's name.

All of our spring flowers have long since bloomed but I thought the traditional full moon name was appropriate with the Southern Magnolias blooming in all their glory.  I finished off the pages yesterday, adding the magnolia blossom and lettering.

Full OOPs Moon

Oops, I added the script too late last night,(last month was the Lenten Moon) this month is the Full Pink Moon, or Grass Moon or Egg Moon or among coastal tribes the Full Fish Moon. With all the flooding it should be the Full Flood Moon.
Sunday night was cloudy with more rain in the forecast but I did catch glimpses of the moon occasionally, and the coastal marsh was in flood stage, much of the sea grass under water.
Sandra Rice
MyFiddlestix.blogspot.com/

Full Moon Wonder - Maree

“Tell me what you feel in your room when the full moon is shining in upon you and your lamp is dying out, and I will tell you how old you are, and I shall know if you are happy.”

- Henri Frederic Amiel

The full moon from my studio window at 5am on the 21st January 2011.

The ‘Super Moon’, so dubbed by astrologer Richard Nolle in the 1970s, was the closest to Earth it had been in 18 years – only 356 577km away! 7 600km closer than usual, and of course, the moon is the same size it’s always been (about 2,150 miles in diameter), but it appeared about 15 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than usual because of it’s passing so close to Earth. This was a rare sight, because of the phenomenon coinciding with a full moon in South Africa.

It was a lovely Equinox moon...

The largest-appearing in almost 20 years as it moved closest to the earth, but it was too overcast here to see it at its fullest...still, the night before was gorgeous!

12.21.2010 A Celestial Event! - Pam Johnson Brickell

12.21.2010 A Celestial Event!
Originally uploaded by PJBee

I was soooo excited to sketch this event! A few clouds at first, but then by 2:30 am the sky cleared. I worked on two pages from 2 am - 3:15. The watercolors seemed to take forever to dry. The paint got a wee bit thick thanks to the cool temp of 37 degrees.

The rest of the story here.

Harvest Moon and Autumnal Equinox II - Pam Johnson Brickell

Ofttimes, when I choose a subject or specimen to paint in my journal, the journey to the completed page takes many roads. Journal...... journey....
Hmmmmmm. Kind of goes hand in hand, don't you think?

I wanted to paint this unique Harvest Moon at a very special location. Spring Island immediately came to mind.
It's a 3000 acre nature preserve and residential community in the heart of the SC low country.

I'm very partial to this little piece of heaven on earth. I first visited the island, in 2007, as a visiting artist, teaching nature journaling. It is also where I studied to be a SC Master Naturalist. In 2009 I was fortunate to be invited back to conduct a second workshop. This past spring, I was asked and became the Spring Island Trust's Visiting Artists Program Coordinator. Pinch me, I think I'm in heaven :) We are entering the busy season for events - thus my blog postings aren't as numerous.  Somehow, as you age, the days get shorter and shorter :)

The above scene is the view from the 18th fairway. Rob and I were wondering if the clouds were going to break open enough to view the moon's rise. It was a lovely evening. The long shadows were sliding over the marsh grass. A sailboat was out on the Chechessee River heading toward Port Royal Sound. Clouds were turning this amazing shade of orange! And, flocks and flocks of White Ibis and quite a few Wood Storks flew over, heading to the Island's rookery.

As sunsets do, all the colors in the sky disappeared and boom, the Harvest Moon in all its glory peeked out! There were soooo many clouds moving quickly that I decided to do three vignettes - all in 8 minutes! 

Sketching was cut short as the sprinklers on the fairway were starting to cycle.  Fortunately, at that moment, not near us! We decided to move farther into the waste bunker - surely they wouldn't water there.....  I dropped my paint tin, upside     down,   in   the    sand.  Thank goodness, no sand collected in the colors I was using :)

I love it when Rob is with me on these outings.  He's the photographer in the family.  RIT graduate with a photo science degree - and he still remembers all the technical stuff!  Oh, to have half of his memory capacity :) At first, he felt a tad encumbered with my totally automatic camera. He'd much rather have his larger SLR and big lens, set on manual no less! He made it work and I've got some great reference shots to finish these sketches with.

At 7:45 p.m. the mosquitoes were about to fly away with us.  No bites, the bug spray was holding, but our arms were very busy swishing them away from our faces. An evening well spent. Journaling always makes me feel like I've been away on a vacation. Refreshed once again :)

I first learned this year's Harvest Moon and Autumnal Equinox were to coincide a couple of weeks ago. Wow! How special and what a treat for my Full Moon Series! Here are links to some very interesting information.

• Astronomer Ed Murphy from UVa discusses the Autumanl Equinox and how leap days came into being.

• EarthSky.Org

• Wikipedia - Equinox info

• Christian Science Monitor  article about moon on fall equinox

• Seasons & Dates for 2010

• Sun and Moon rise/set dates

Harvest Moon & Autumnal Equinox I - Pam Johnson Brickell

Harvest Moon & Autumnal Equinox I
Originally uploaded by PJBee

Two evenings to celebrate this rare event.
Please see my blog for images and the full story.
www.creatingnaturejournals.com

Full Sturgeon Moon - Pam Johnson Brickell

Full Sturgeon Moon
Originally uploaded by PJBee

Lots of names for this full moon! My own is Moon of Many Bugs! This is a real quick wc sketch - perhaps 10 minutes. Between the wee bugs attracted to the book light and the mosquitoes that were licking the bug spray then biting....... I finished up the written word today in the comfort of my studio :)

More blogged here at www.creatingnaturejournals.com

Full Strawberry Moon - Pam Johnson Brickell

Full Strawberry Moon
Originally uploaded by PJBee

I rebelled from the business of moving long enough to capture the first full moon at our new digs :)

Sorry for the blurry image. I'm away from my scanner. It's good to be posting again though :)

Once in a Blue Moon New Year's Eve - Pam Johnson Brickell

It was a balmy 59 degrees this evening when I did this plein air watercolor of the Blue Moon. I even heard a few peepers!! They better hunker down as the temps are to plummet come Saturday.

Just a few clouds around the moon and a partial ring of yellow and red.

The eve's celebrations were starting. I heard the sound of far off fireworks at 7:30 pm!

Happy New Year one and all!

Full Cold Moon Eve - Pam Johnson Brickell

Rain is in the forecast this evening for the first of December's full moons. I did a quick watercolor sketch of last nights moon just before total cloud cover. It was a hazy sky with barely any definition around the moon's edges.

The 2nd full moon in December is on the 31st. It's know as 'Blue Moon' - the traditional name given to the second full moon occurring in the same month. The last Blue Moon was in May of 2007!

Hunter's Moon - Pam Johnson Brickell

I was hoping for a clear sky this evening, but not. The Hunter's Moon did peak out at one point, but not enough to light up my view of the Okatie River.  Still, a beauty of an evening :)

My favorite star gazing web site says:
The Hunter's Moon highlights the sky tonight. In most years the Harvest Moon comes in September, with the Hunter's Moon in October. But this year October's full Moon was closer to the fall equinox, so both the Harvest and Hunter's moons were pushed back a month.