The inspiration behind this painting is a cosmic dance and here the sun and moon equally share the dance floor. My partner and I both studied astronomy in school. Like countless others we drove through the night down to Oregon to see the full solar eclipse last summer.

We slept for a couple of hours in the back of our car, in a crowded parking lot of a Safeway. There were cars from Canada, California, Washington, and Oregon. Each full of excited pilgrims and astronomy nerds, waiting for totality.

The eclipse was an ecstatic moment, a true aesthetic experience full of sweetness and wonderment. But it was the shadow bands streaking across the floor that made my heart spin and leap like a leaf caught in a whirlwind.

‘Neath That Sugar Moon
Size: 36 H x 24 W
Oil on canvas