"Full Moon on Granada Court " by artist Brenda Hofreiter

This original oil plein air night painting or nocturnal was created in downtown Winter Park along Park Avenue. It is such a lovely town to live in, day or night, there is always something beautiful to see and paint! In this view I am looking across Park Avenue toward Granada Courtyard. It is late winter and the days are still short and the nights cool and clear. I was captured by the light coming from the windows of the shops and offices as day rapidly turned into dark night. The warm bright streetlights shone on the building front making interesting shadows and pools of light. The park is across the street and is lined by raised planters that are seasonally planted with flowers and trees. This large ponnytail palm caught my eye with it's wavy textured trunk and graceful curling leaves and I loved the brightly lit yellow flowers sharing space in the planter with it. Imagine my delight when, during the course of the painting, the full moon began to rise behind the palm! I hurried to capture it's cool brilliance and the way it lit up the cloudy evening sky. It's cool light was a great complement to the warm colors of the foreground. Perfect!! Now the composition was working even better than I had designed it. The palm trunks lead your eye up to the moon, the clouds leading your eye down to the window and distant archway, to the light along the edge of the car, along the yellow flowers and back to the palm, keeping you in the picture plane while you discover all of it's beauty. It's awesome when a perfect natural composition offers itself to you in nature.
It is hard to compete with that kind of perfection. You just notice and appreciate it and try your best to capture its magic in paint! I find painting plein air in the evening to be quite pleasant. The lighting stays consistent once darkness has fallen, the night air is cool and crisp. With a hot drink and sweater, you are all set to discover and capture all the natural beauty you can find to share!