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The time of darkness is relatively unknown to us, and the colors, contours, and characters of the world change completely when the sun sets, and as the moon waxes and wanes. Artists such as Ewoud de Groot, Dan Young, Leon Loughridge, Deborah Paris, Paula Schuette Kraemer, and Heather Foster all dared to venture into the night to share its beauty and their experience with us.
“That’s what the secret is: getting it to feel like night,” reflects Dan Young. “Because if you go out there at night, it’s very monochromatic. All the color drops out. It’s not so much the color. It’s the value shifts that make it read like night. The values get much closer, and all the edges go away. Once you figure that out, you can push the color—turn the snow green, blue, red—any color you want, as long as the value relationships work. You have to realize you can’t paint what you know, you have to paint what you see.”
“The idea of animals existing with humans nearby has always been a strong theme in my work,” shares Paula Schuette Kraemer. Night Forest, Gone the Sun, Night Calm and Moonrise are all little imaginary peeks at forest life at dusk or during the night. They were inspired by photos taken by my “Trail Cam” of animals walking into and out of a small wooded environment very near my home. Whenever these images were taken, I was oblivious to the animals being there, and they weren’t concerned about my proximity, either. A few turn around to see who’s there; light may catch their eyes, but they are relaxed and calm, simply going about their lives with the Colorado moon lighting their way as they leave tracks in the snow as evidence of their coming and going.”
