Nightfall on Nā’alae, 2019
Night scenes are very evocative and mysterious, not to mention full of color. It puzzles me that few artists capture them. I love how moonlight can diffuse silver across the landscape. Color is there but at a much lower key. Nightfall on Nā'alae combines varying hues of a similar value to create a subtle visual buzz, known as a halation, which enlivens the eye of the viewer. This effect is visible to the naked eye as your vision adjusts. At first, the most obvious thing is the window light spilling into the dark. Follow that out a little further and depending on the ambient light, you'll actually see color there. So if the moon is out even a little, painting subject matter is ubiquitous.