Sketching from source material

I am working on commissioned double stained glass door panels. The theme is moonlight over a lake. The mood of the piece will be gentle and restful. The client lives on the banks of a large lake on the coast of New South Wales and appreciates the beauty of the full moon rising above tranquil waters through the silhouette of Sheokes and Eucalypts.

I have been looking at Japanese wood blocks depicting nocturnal scenes and have been inspired by the subdued lighting, highlighted only by sparkling reflections on the water, softly illuminated bark and the silver disk of the moon.  The client mentioned a pallette of gray blues, I will extend this with hues of teal and pale gold and dark olive green.

I have a fascination with black swans and have painted them in window designs previously but not as a nocturnal scene and I wondered if they swim at night. The client’s partner sent me a photo taken of swans swimming in a circle at dusk. Having discovered that these birds do indeed swim at night, the problem now is how many to paint. They have so many gestures from diving bottoms up to swanning backwards and forwards, craning and bowing their long elegant necks.

I have collected some lovely gray blue glass over the years, both hand made and machine made but have never had much opportunity to use it till now as this is the first nocturn I have done. I am looking forward to selecting the glass that will bring my design to life.