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Lunar eclipse of 3-14

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#1 WillR

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Posted 24 March 2025 - 10:45 AM

A little late posting this because I was trying to do a watercolor of the totality stage and post the two together, but have been unable to get something I like, so here is one sketch.

 

This is approaching totality. It was done from memory on a moon template in watercolor, pencil and colored pencil. Photographs couldn't capture what was going on at this stage. There was detail in the still lit area, a soft transition to a very dark band, and then a gradual transition from gray to red as one moved further from the shadow edge.

 

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  • Lunar eclipse Mar14-2025 web.jpg

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#2 tcifani

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Posted 24 March 2025 - 04:29 PM

Will,

Excellent sketch! This is exactly what I saw too with color and texture.


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#3 nitsky

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Posted 24 March 2025 - 06:05 PM

Beautiful work Will!

That 'texturing' brought it to life!

Hack


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#4 zjc26138

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Posted 27 March 2025 - 11:58 AM

Fantastic!

 

Literally what I saw visually.


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#5 Aquarellia

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Posted 30 March 2025 - 10:57 AM

Nice result !

I like this

Michel


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#6 Warmvet

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Posted 02 April 2025 - 11:31 PM

Very nice rendition and capture of the gradation of shadow. Wonderful to capture what a camera could not!

 

Cindy


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#7 mdowns

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Posted 03 April 2025 - 09:38 AM

This is really a fun piece to enjoy. Healthy contrasts but still very comfortable to look upon. I like your approach and this piece a lot.


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#8 frank5817

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Posted 03 April 2025 - 10:11 AM

Well done Will.

 

That is a fine sketch of the eclipse.

 

frank :)


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#9 JayinUT

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Posted 04 April 2025 - 05:56 PM

Love this! Beautiful! 


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#10 Randolph Jay

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Posted 06 April 2025 - 03:11 PM

Really beautiful! I think these last minutes before totality are very lovely and your sketch captures this so well!.
Randolph

#11 WillR

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Posted 12 April 2025 - 10:34 AM

Here is a sketch I did just as totality was ending and the shadow was moving off the north limb, staring to light it up. I am not 100% happy with this drawing, but I did try to get the color; the still deep red of the south with the violet and blue colors of the central part, and even a touch of yellow on the limb.

 

This is watercolor and colored pencil.

Attached Thumbnails

  • Total lunar eclipse endingweb.jpg

Edited by WillR, 12 April 2025 - 10:35 AM.

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#12 nitsky

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Posted 12 April 2025 - 11:49 AM

Yup....THAT COLOR, and sketch is perfect Wil!waytogo.gif

Hack



#13 Sketcher

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Posted 12 April 2025 - 04:16 PM

It's been lovely viewing your works Will!  There's that certain "Je ne sais quoi" that's possessed by artwork that's just not there in the eye of a camera.

 

On April 1st (no fooling!) I "finished" the below acrylic painting of the 3-14-25 eclipse.  I put quotes around "finished" because I'm not sure about it being finished.  I've been seriously considering doing more work on it.  But then, I'm almost never satisfied with my own works.

 

Also, this might be the first time I've shown one of my works in this forum -- and there's a reason for that:  Sometime back I saw that someone had discouraged people from making critical comments concerning the works of others.  But for my own works, specifically the one shown below, I actually want critical comments.

 

I see many things in the below work that I'm not pleased with.  As such, I'm curious to read critical comments from others.  I'm wanting to improve upon my abilities to make paintings, and that's likely to progress faster with critical input from others.  In what ways can this painting be improved?  In the opinion of others, what should I have done differently?  What do you consider some of my mistakes to have been?

 

Lunar Eclipse 3 14 25b

 

There's a lot in the above painting that I'm not happy with, so don't worry about hurting my feelings.  So have at it.  Dissect this painting and criticize it -- please.


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#14 WillR

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Posted 12 April 2025 - 07:58 PM

It's been lovely viewing your works Will!  There's that certain "Je ne sais quoi" that's possessed by artwork that's just not there in the eye of a camera.

 

On April 1st (no fooling!) I "finished" the below acrylic painting of the 3-14-25 eclipse.  I put quotes around "finished" because I'm not sure about it being finished.  I've been seriously considering doing more work on it.  But then, I'm almost never satisfied with my own works.

 

Also, this might be the first time I've shown one of my works in this forum -- and there's a reason for that:  Sometime back I saw that someone had discouraged people from making critical comments concerning the works of others.  But for my own works, specifically the one shown below, I actually want critical comments.

 

I see many things in the below work that I'm not pleased with.  As such, I'm curious to read critical comments from others.  I'm wanting to improve upon my abilities to make paintings, and that's likely to progress faster with critical input from others.  In what ways can this painting be improved?  In the opinion of others, what should I have done differently?  What do you consider some of my mistakes to have been?

 

 

 

There's a lot in the above painting that I'm not happy with, so don't worry about hurting my feelings.  So have at it.  Dissect this painting and criticize it -- please.

Nice! This is very good. If it makes you feel better, I feel the same way about mine. I want to keep fussing with it, but it's not getting any better. smile.gif

 

I'm happy to give a few notes, if you want, but I wouldn't call them mistakes. The sky is very blue, was that the way you saw it? The red might be a tad intense. The only obvious thing I see is the lit portion is bulging out which gives it the appearance of a polar ice cap, or some thick ice on the surface. The moon lost a bit of its roundness there. Maybe you could use a compass or some circular template to get it round?

 

What part of the eclipse was this? As totality ended, I saw this gray/violet transitioning to the still reddish, fully in shadow section. That is my second sketch. The first sketch is before totality, and it looked very different. The darkest band was right at the shadow line. In fact the banding was pronounced and looked artificial in my sketch until I toned it down.


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#15 Sketcher

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Posted 13 April 2025 - 12:43 AM

Nice! This is very good. If it makes you feel better, I feel the same way about mine. I want to keep fussing with it, but it's not getting any better. smile.gif

 

I'm happy to give a few notes, if you want, but I wouldn't call them mistakes. The sky is very blue, was that the way you saw it? The red might be a tad intense. The only obvious thing I see is the lit portion is bulging out which gives it the appearance of a polar ice cap, or some thick ice on the surface. The moon lost a bit of its roundness there. Maybe you could use a compass or some circular template to get it round?

 

What part of the eclipse was this? As totality ended, I saw this gray/violet transitioning to the still reddish, fully in shadow section. That is my second sketch. The first sketch is before totality, and it looked very different. The darkest band was right at the shadow line. In fact the banding was pronounced and looked artificial in my sketch until I toned it down.

Thanks Will!  I didn't see a blue sky.  The sky I saw was basically a dark gray.  I wanted to try something different there.  I do sincerely appreciate all of your comments.  The out-of-shape (non-circular) moon was a mistake -- in need of fixing.  Thanks for pointing that out!

 

I observed the eclipse using a small pair of binoculars.  My sky was mostly cloudy, but the moon was in a clear area until about 20 minutes into totality.  My rough sketch was very rough, noting a much brighter/lighter-colored region in the north (but I may have made it too bright and devoid of detail in the painting).  Also noted (when observing the eclipse) was that the limb region around Grimaldi seemed to be a bit of a brighter orange or orange-red than its surroundings.  This was in the early totality phase of the eclipse.

 

Some other things that I've noticed in this painting that I'm not pleased with:

 

That brighter northern region should be a bit thicker -- extending a bit farther southward with a more gradual transition into the more orangish part of Earth's shadow.

 

In some areas my transitions between darker and lighter parts of Earth's shadow are too abrupt.

 

The ocean/maria edges are too sharp in many (most) places.

 

Copernicus and some of the other brighter patches are too bright.

 

In general, I'm not happy with the colors that I used on the moon, though I realize that it can be OK to purposely alter such things in a painting.

 

Then there're the lunar details and being consistent in the level of detail over the visible lunar hemisphere, with due account being given to Earth's shadow being darker here and brighter there.

 

I'm quite inexperienced in acrylics, and this is my first painting in several years.  But I hope to gradually pick up the pace in the near future.

 

Meanwhile, I'm open to more criticisms/suggestions -- from anyone!



#16 Sketcher

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Posted Today, 08:27 PM

I don't consider painting to be sketching, but this still seems to be the best place for such things among the various CN forums.

 

Anyway, I made some changes in this previously posted painting and turned it into the modified painting that appears beneath it:

 

Lunar Eclipse 3 14 25b
Lunar Eclipse 3 14 25f

 

For whatever reasons, the colors in the actual (second) painting seem to be a bit more varied and less muted in comparison with the camera's view.  The colors on the moon are more accurate (to the painting) in the first (upper) image.  Though in fairness, I did try a different camera setting for the second image.

 

The actual (second) painting shows a somewhat brighter northern region than what appears in the photo.  Only small changes (with the exception of the northern-most region) were made to the moon in the latest attempt.  And yes, I did darken the background by a noticeable amount.

 

As before, any and all comments will be welcomed.  I'll let it sit for a few days before deciding whether to keep the painting as it currently appears or making more changes.  But with painting (as opposed to with sketches) I do feel that I have more freedom to intentionally drift a bit beyond what was actually seen.  I try to be "factual" with my sketches.  With painting I'm desiring to venture more into the world of art -- where anything goes and nothing is "off the table" or out of bounds smile.gif

 

P.S.  The actual painting is 11x14 inches in size.  I just went over to measure it, and indeed, I find the actual colors in the painting to be more "vibrant" than what was recorded by the camera.




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