This painting grew in the making, and became more than just a single work of art. My interest in astronomy and mythology continues to inform the work I do to an ever increasing level, and one evening in mid summer 2021, after several long and difficult weeks working on the Garrison campsite, my son and I and other staff members were relaxing over a few beers and some food. It was a glorious summer evening. That lovely king’s Blue of the sky, long wispy sirus clouds streaking across the sky and there framed in the sky by these clouds – the waxing gibbous Moon. The atmosphere was clear and it was easy to pick out several large features on the surface of the Moon including mare serenitatis, mare tranquillitatis, Mare Crisum, mare fecuditatis, Plato crator was just about discernable as was Tycho crater, Mare Firgoris, mare imbrium, and mare nubium.

The Moon as always is captivating and the conversation faded for me at this point as I just stared at the Moon. It always fascinates me as it seems to be there in complete calm and absolutely beautiful. It reminds me of The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy in which Arthur Dent asks the wise old bird in exaspiration what is keeping the cup in the sky from falling, and the wise old bird replies ‘art’ that it is artistically correct.

The Moon always seems to have in a far more serious way that feeling of being in absolute harmony, perfectly placed, artistically correct. Call it a feeling of awe and beauty and connection with nature.

As always when I observe I draw upon a wealth of knowledge gained over many years and I start to rumage through what I can remeber of the names of the surface features, the history of the Apollo missions, humans landing on the Moon, and the theories of how the Moon formed, that as moons of the solar system go, in comparison to other moons and there parent bodies the Moon is exceptional in it’s size compared to the Earth……

Here is the first of the paintings inspired by my own observations of the Moon.

Four paintings in one, as the painting is rotated through 90 degrees a new painting with a different title is revealed. The titles are as follows…..Daughter of Theia. One Light Second. In contemplation of the infinite. From within….that…Pale Blue Dot. Oil on canvas 80×90 cm 2021

During my contemplation of the Moon that evening I considered once again the origin of the Moon, oddly I had been reading a new article on this subject involving a collision between the proto Earth and a Mars sized proto plant named Theia 4.4 billion of years ago.  and that evidence for Theia or whats left of Theia are buried deep inside our planet. So there I was sitting contemplating that deep beneath me were the remnants of Theia and above was the Moon both consequences of that immense collision, and that those remnants deep in the Earth may also be cause the Atlantic magnetic anomaly…….. And at the same time the reasons for the title of this painting are also intimately linked to the naming of ‘Theia’ and the mythological stories behind Theia, which are fascinating.

The four orientations…..

In greek mythology Theia was the Titan goddess of sight, (thea) and the shining aithre (ether) of the bright blue sky and right there we have the first visual connections as Selene one of the three children of Theia is the orginal name for the Moon, hence the title Daughter of Theia and the observers gaze is directed towards the Moon in this painting. The bright blue of the sky is representative of Theia – goddess of the deep blue of the sky. Theia also in mythology endowed silver and gold with their brilliance and lustre and so the bright silver luster of the Moon is also a direct reference to the goddess Theia. It is the focal point as it was mine on that evening – Theia bore the titan Hyperion three children Helios – the Sun, Eos – the dawn, and of course Selene the Moon.

The three children of Theia are also implicitly though indirectly in this painting. The painting has no particular refernce to being a dawn or a sunset there are no references to any particular time of day except for that time of day when I once again was caught up in contemplating our understanding of nature, but only for the purpose of the beginings of this description and so Helios the sun is part of this painting for without the sun how is one to see anything, also the painting could be after dawn and so Eos is implied and of course Selene – the Moon is the focal point.

The painting then conspires to present to the viewer all these aspects in one view. The mythology, my fascination, and our contemporary understanding for the origin of the Moon……and contiguously even through the four orientations of the painting, this remains the same …. and hence the title –  ‘Daughter of Theia’ 

Venus at Dawn oil on canvas 107×122 cm 2017 £31oo

Working in the studio….two paintings. The one on the easel is just about finished. The paint will need to dry for several days after which maybe a glaze or two. And that will e just about it. It shows the planet Venus moments before Sunrise.