Quiet Night, 9"x7" SOLD

This morning I got this painting out of the drawer with the purpose of photographing it for my records, but while I was at it, I noticed a few things that were bothering me. So I got to work and it's now officially finished. I have found that it's much easier to see what needs to be done with a painting if I take photos of it.

This is the view looking east from my backyard. The main street that bisects the city is on the other side of the tall houses. I worked from a photo I took a year ago, and remember being surprised at the time for having captured the color of the sky with my camera. I emphasized the color in the painting to convey a surreal mood.

I was going to title it Winter Moon, but considering that my neighborhood is truly quiet only when it rains or when it's a cold winter night, I thought the present title was more appropriate.

Orion, 10" x 13" - SOLD

Orion is my favorite constellation of the winter sky. As a kid I didn't know the meaning of the name, nor what it represented. All that mattered to me then, was that it was the easiest to recognize: three stars close together in a row, and bingo!

For this painting I use a photo of a field on Rt 80, South of Syracuse, taken a year ago during daylight. I changed the field's orientation from east to south, and the rest was observation.
I had to wait till we had a clear night to brave the cold several times in order to track the constellation's movements. This is Orion's position at 6:00PM.