June Gloom has arrived here in Santa Barbara, and it seems like the entire day is Gray with no change in temperature; I might as well be living in Denmark!
As a pilot, I remember days when the clouds were so low I couldn't fly under Visual Flight Rules (VFR Conditions), however with the aid of an instructor I could get a 'special' to, "get on top" of the clouds to fly around. It always seemed like I'd arrived in heaven when I eventually broke through the cloud cover.
Twelve years ago, when I was in the midst of getting my Master's Degree in Art, the Moon was coming up full, and I needed to capture it, or try to anyway. But the clouds were low and in the way. Then I got the idea to try and drive up to E. Camino Cielo, (3000ft. agl) and paint the effect of moonlight above the clouds.
Up on the top of La Cumbre Peak, I set up to paint this painting. It took me almost four hours to complete, then another eight hours glazing it in my studio. During this time I was amazed to witness the thinning of the ocean of fog over the city of Goleta. As the fog would thin, the light would come bubbling up like a glowing soup in a cauldron.
With the Green underpainting tone of the canvas, and blues of the moonlight cast upon the clouds and mountains, it truly gave me the inspiration of what it may be like to be an angel; above the fray, free to play.
Angel's Flight
22"x44", oil/canvas 1998
Private Collection
www.thomasvanstein.net
Breath-taking. Brilliant.
ReplyDelete...between heaven and earth, indeed!
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