For several months, I’ve been taking daily walks after sunset, and the moon has been my companion much of the time. One evening a crescent moon hung over the horizon with Venus glowing brilliantly below it. I stared long enough to convince myself it actually WAS Venus, not a low flying helicopter with a bright searchlight.

The moment was breathtaking, and ever since I’ve had that vision imprinted on my consciousness waiting to be realized.

The opportunity came while I was staring at the mat board on my tabletop, debating whether to put time into such a scarred and abused surface. I kept seeing an archway in front of me, and finally I couldn’t resist dashing in a figure while waiting for another piece to dry.

This palette gremlin only begins to capture that original feeling. It would have to be painted in full color with a much wider range of values. If I ever finish this as a full painting, I’ll print a digital copy and paint on that, because the section of matboard is damaged to the point of being unworkable.