Nocturne in Blue

Pastel, 6x9 on UArt

The full moon paints the dark clouds with light from within.  As Moses wrote, this is "the lesser light to rule the night" (Genesis 1:16).
This painting began as a study in composition.  I am trying to incorporate Edgar Payne's composition patterns that work with the unbroken horizontal lines of the Florida beaches.  My first efforts have been with what Payne calls the "steel yard" composition which is a balance between large and small vertical elements on opposite sides of the painting.  In order to simplify the elements, I selected a moon-lit night scene.  I wanted the clouds to form the two important structures and the reflection of the moon to serve as the fulcrum on which the elements are balanced. 
"Nocturne in Blue" - sold the day it was painted.