Million to One
101 Oil Studies, No. 56
Objective: Explore the Moon/Andromeda galaxy relationship
Painted in 3 sessions: 16 to 27 January 2025
Pigments (Winsor & Newton Artists' oil colour): Indigo, lamp black, cadmium lemon, cadmium orange, cadmium red. Mediums: Gamsol, Oleogel.
Centurion OP DLX oil primed linen, 22.9 x 30.5 cm (9 x 12 inches)
Take a look at a photo of the Andromeda galaxy (such as V. Petkov's nice image in my Favs). A lay person might be surprised to learn that the galaxy covers a much larger area in the Earth's sky than the Moon: "Then why have I never looked up and noticed it?"
This compact oil study, which portrays Moon and galaxy correctly scaled as they appear from Earth, tries to answer that question by substituting color temperature for luminosity. The Moon is more than a million times brighter than the galaxy. The unaided human eye can faintly see only the core of the galaxy, and only against a very dark night sky.
Million to One
101 Oil Studies, No. 56
Objective: Explore the Moon/Andromeda galaxy relationship
Painted in 3 sessions: 16 to 27 January 2025
Pigments (Winsor & Newton Artists' oil colour): Indigo, lamp black, cadmium lemon, cadmium orange, cadmium red. Mediums: Gamsol, Oleogel.
Centurion OP DLX oil primed linen, 22.9 x 30.5 cm (9 x 12 inches)
Take a look at a photo of the Andromeda galaxy (such as V. Petkov's nice image in my Favs). A lay person might be surprised to learn that the galaxy covers a much larger area in the Earth's sky than the Moon: "Then why have I never looked up and noticed it?"
This compact oil study, which portrays Moon and galaxy correctly scaled as they appear from Earth, tries to answer that question by substituting color temperature for luminosity. The Moon is more than a million times brighter than the galaxy. The unaided human eye can faintly see only the core of the galaxy, and only against a very dark night sky.