The weather forecast called for a thunderstorm at 8 pm but, at 7:45 the eastern sky was somewhat clear and I wasn’t going to let the dark clouds building in west deter me.  There was a moonrise to paint!

I was also excited to try out my new plein air setup.

I’ve been wanting to paint larger pieces and on single sheets of watercolor paper.  I found this case at Staples.  It has a clip to hold paper on the outside and opens to hold more paper and whatever inside.

click to enlarge

I made an alteration to the cover by sticking down a clip that requires paper to have two holes punched into one side.  It’s held in place with duct tape.  I tore down 2 full sheets of watercolor paper into 8.5 x 11 sheets.  I also cut a piece of acetate a bit larger than 8.5 x 11 so it would protect the paper.  White artist tape is securing the bottom of the acetate.

When I’m ready to paint, I undo the clips, lift off the acetate to get a single sheet, replace the acetate over the extra sheets, put the single sheet over the acetate and close the clip.  The right side of the container makes a great support for my palette, brushes, paper toweling and whatever else lands there.  It’s very easy to hold in my lap 🙂

The moonrise was about the palest I’ve seen!  It was still quite light out and I could barely see the white moon.  Wow, white!  Our air must be very clean from all the storms we’ve had lately.  Usually the moon is a beautiful orange when rising. By the time I got the sky laid in, clouds half covered the moon.  It never reappeared while I sat there painting. The sky was so dull that the incoming tidal water was a dull brown green.  All the green in the foreground and up to the tree line is water!  Just a wee bit of marsh sand and black needle rush with other vegetation in the lower middle of this scene.  I felt deflated with such a pale moon and all the clouds.

Today, I’m happy with how the marsh and trees turned out.  What was your moonrise like?