7th Moon - The Moons of 2021

A painting with the Moon each month as medicine to heal from the year that shall not be named.

Presenting the 7th Moon painting of The Moons of 2021 series. Here is a glimpse into my private studio practice. The limitations of digital images taken during the creation process have made it unclear that something resides at ground level of the six, previous Moon paintings.

The first step is to gather all of the sacred names of the Moon. The paintings begin on the prior New Moon, completed on or around the named Full Moon. The names sink in and eventually, the tone of the painting reveals itself. This could be from color, shape, or intentional subject matter. The first layer is painted over a light gesso, only to be covered with Moon-esque, surface musings. This 7th month was not providing any of the usual calls to mark.

I was already a week late to start when my beloved addiction to Le Tour de France answered the call. On the last stage, during the race's goodbye until next year wrap-up, an image of the French flag waving against a crystal blue sky appeared. It was on screen only for a moment, and long enough for my eyes to move to the right of the flag into the blue field where I saw a whisper of the Moon's daytime rise.

But was that enough? The colors, in order of the French flag? Well not just any red and blue. A memory of a small series of paintings that referenced Mondrian's exact colors from Broadway Boogie Woogie would provide the red and blue. I did not use them straight. The drive of this series was to find the tinting tipping point. How light and subtle can a color be mixed? Where is that edge where white is not white any longer and only a micro-shade of the blue, red, yellow, and grey that Mondrian used? It was fascinating to see the difference between these mixed paints on the palette versus what they looked like while painting the linen or board, then versus how they appeared dried and finished in the paintings. I was creating blindly and looking forward to the result. Photographing and uploading the images of these works was pointless. Time to cry uncle and hire a professional to capture their fluctuating mystery. For now, I give you an image of the paints mixed and ready to go from the palette. At first glance the paintings look completely white. The magic of these paintings is that your eye trains to see the almost imperceptible colors. They are slow works.

I had some red left and had to remix the blue which was not a problem. Mondriand's, "Boogie Woogie" colors will always be remembered from dissecting a book I found that gave an exhaustive technical analysis of his painting. This article is close to the book I researched: "Piet Mondrian’s Broadway Boogie Woogie: non invasive analysis using macro X-ray fluorescence mapping (MA-XRF) and multivariate curve resolution-alternating least square (MCR-ALS)" . You will see in the first image above that the value of the blue that I just mixed was too dark compared to the previously mixed red.

Colors inspired by the moon waving hello from France in a split second; the exact variants of the colors reminiscent of a previous work; something was still missing. I revisited the 7th Moon's names list and found something about velvet antlers, which struck another chord. Time to paint. What you see in the first picture above is the second layer to the painting on top of the graduated gesso. None on the right end of the linen for the New Moon phase. The left end was gessoed for Full Moon brightness. The center is a blend of both ends. This image was dissolved into multiple layers resulting in the almost final 7th Moon painting below.

Below are all the names of the 7th Moon that I could find. The Moon unites us.

We all call the Moon by her name.

Claiming Moon, Wyrt or Herb Moon, Mead Moon • Hungry Ghost Moon • Wild Cherry Moon •Temaskikos - Grass Cutter Moon • MATTERLLAWAW KESOS - SQUASH ARE RIPE & INDIAN BEANS BEGIN TO BE EDIBLE • Aabita-niibino-giizis • RASPBERRY MOON • MOON OF THE HORSE/TIME OF RIPENESS • WHEN THE BUFFALO BELLOWS • WHEN THE CHOKEBERRIES BEGIN TO RIPEN • Wasasa - Red Berries Moon • KUYEGWONA - RIPE CORN MOON • nvda utsi'dsata' - CORN IN • TASSEL MOON (when the corn is displaying a tassel) • Guyegwoni - RIPE CORN MOON • Méanéeše’he - Summer Moon • Sétoveméanéeše’he - Middle of Summer Moon • Urui mua - hot moon • Pia mua - large moon • THE MOON WHEN DUCKS • BEGIN TO MOULT - (OPASKWUWIPIZUN) • FEATHER MOULTING MOON - PASKOWRPICIM • LITTLE RIPENING MOONZ • LITTLE HEAT OR LITTLE RIPENING • Chíin Kungáay - Salmon moon • KELMUYA - Month of Fledgling Hawk, NIMANMUYA - Month of the Homedance • Padlersersivik • Ameku or Waydyu Ameku - mid Summer • Sina kisraiti • LITTLE MOON OF DEER HORNS DROPPING OFF (TAGUNOTAL P'A SAN) • Halamrtinya • Canpasapa Wi - Moon when the chokecherries are black. • Ohiarihko:wa - time of much ripening • Hiyucee - Little Harvest • Peaches • BE-NE-TA-TSOSIE - SMALL HARVEST • Mesquemene keezis - red raspberry moon • MOON WHEN THE BUFFALO BELLOW • Accihte - ripening moon • MIDDLE OF SUMMER MOON • We'shkitdaminkese - month of the young corn • Miini kiishthwa - Blackberry Moon • Daza-mea' - Summer moon • taattsuwim muattsi • MOON WHEN THE WILD CHERRIES ARE RIPE/RED CHERRIES/RED BLOOMING LILIES • Xaat Dísi - Salmon moon • CORN-POPPING MOON • SALMON GO UP THE RIVERS IN A GROUP MOON • Hulio - Yuku Meecha • MIDDLE OF SUMMER - WAGAKYA • Dayamcho yachunne - moon when limbs of are trees broken by fruit • Buck Moon • Moon in Holly - Tinne • Wolf Moon, Old Moon, Ice Moon • Lazing In Sun Moon