This post is part of my ongoing series Courting the Muse. Subscribers to my email list will receive a weekly prompt focusing on one aspect of creativity.
This week’s prompt: Twilight
Sometimes the muse gives me eyestrain.
Like when she points out the subtle colors of twilight, soft and surreal. I can stare at the sky and see the big picture but find myself straining to see if there’s a line of definition where one color turns into the next.
I’m talking Civil Twlight here because technically there are three of them, each different from the last. Civil twilight is what you see when the sun is below the horizon but there’s still some color in the sky. At least that’s how I’m calling it.
You can geek out on the technical definitions here.
It’s the time you had to be home when you were a kid and the streetlights came on. Not quite dusk but close to it. You could still kinda sorta see where you were going. but not well enough to avoid getting knocked down by Mikey McClary for linking his name along with Terry Riley’s in some second grade graffitti. There was a heart involved.
Ahem…
In more practical terms, twilight is when you can’t see what color you’re painting and you better turn on the studio lights or you’ll be pissed off unhappy with your choices in the morning.
Speaking from experience…
So here’s what I did with this prompt. The blue is oil pastel, the other is chalk. I believe these will eventually be part of a sunrise/sunset series. When I have enough, just like the sun splotches (AKA Inspired by Light) I’ll release it as a collection.
You’ll be the first to know when I do!
What about you? Did this weeks prompt inspire any creative action? Doesn’t have to be a painting, could be photography, a poem or even just a new appreciation and awareness of twilight. Do let me know in the comments below.
Till next week–
Interested in learning from me? I’m teaching another Oil & Cold Wax workshop February 22-23 in Grass Valley. Click here for details. My last one filled up in a matter of days.
Last week Wednesday, after the workout in the gym, someone opened the door to walk and catch the breath. I could catch a glimpse of the sky and there was the last bit of a twilight. The sky was overcast but had that bit of red in it. And quickly after that the red was gone and the sky was just all gray.
The next morning, when I drove to work (do you still call it twilight?), the sky was a warm yellow in the far distance, towards the horizon, over the trees. Overhead it was a beautiful blue. And somewhere in between the transition between the colors happened. – Then I thought to myself, it’s very interesting how nature does not mix those colors into a green!
It’s such a momentary period of time, blink and it’s gone. Most cameras (meaning cell phones)don’t begin to capture the colors. I’ve developed a habit of really looking into the color transitions while writing notes to myself in my head—like a mental sketchbook. If you stare hard enough you will see a hint of green. At least I do. Or maybe that’s just eyestrain…
FYI:Yes, it’s called twilight in the morning too, just before sunrise.