Moonlight Blues

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”
– Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 1

Moonlight Blues, 18 x 24 Watercolor

There is a time for everything, and everything in its time. Moonlight Blues is an image that captures a time, a season in my life, when unforeseen circumstances created a deep chasm in my life that commanded a large portion of my time and attention to correct. Into each life some rain must fall, and in many instances, the darker sides of life and people often present themselves at the most unexpected times, and in the most unexpected ways.

The people and things we love most are very often the sources of our brightest days and darkest nights. All of life is a revolving series of endings and beginnings. The sun rises and sets, the seasons transform and change, joys bring us light, and sorrows bring the blues. The winds of change blew a storm my way and I got blues. The Blues are no stranger to my people, and it’s no surprise that we created some of the most beautiful melodies to express them. The sense of longing, existential angst, and bone-weary pain has been an integral part of our experience for the majority of our time in this country. And as usual, it was creativity and its expression that provided the cathartic release needed to bring relief to abused bodies and blighted souls. 

People say that time heals all wounds, but what we do between the hurt and the healing can make a world of difference. It’s not just the time, but what we do during the time  which determines whether we heal in a manner that is conducive to future growth, or just another exercise in repression which eventually creates even more psycho-spiritual baggage. With the former time becomes a soothing balm which helps to heal and wash away the angst and pain. In the latter, time becomes a shifting sand that merely buries and covers pain, leaving it to rot and fester. Left unchecked, those unseen scars will eventually cause damage that rears its head in the form of unforeseen consequences that harm both body and soul in ways that can’t be quantified in human measures. 

Soul wounds heal much slower than our physical bodies, so we must be more intentional about their healing. But they, too, heal from the inside out just like our bodies. So, I descended into the blues. I prayed, I wept, I was angry, I felt as if everything in my life had suddenly just shriveled up. I wanted to work, to create, to wash these blues away by birthing something truly powerful from this darkness, but nothing came. I was numb, paralyzed, and creatively mute. Sitting in my studio, staring at my sketchbook, living with the blues. There was no light, and there was no muse. Only darkness. 

One night, I was in such a deep dream state that when I awakened, I was sitting straight up in bed. Many psychics tell us that these kinds of occurrences are actually signs that we have engaged in astral travel during the dream state. Nevertheless, I found myself sitting up in bed, fully awake, staring into the darkness. It seemed as if the world was asleep and everything was silent. I got up, walked to the window, parted the curtain, and stared up into the light of the moon. And I cried. I cried, and sobbed, and dropped to my knees beneath the light of the moon. 

Every day, every day I have the blues.

When you see me crying baby, you know it’s you I hate to lose

Seems like nobody loves me, and nobody seems to care

Speakin’ bout hard times and trouble, you know I’ve had my share.

I’m gonna pack my bags and move on the down the line

Ain’t nobody worrying and ain’t nobody crying

Every day I have the blues
– B. King

Symbolism

This monochromatic image was created using watercolor paints on heavy-duty cold-press watercolor paper. The monochromatic use of blue is a symbolic play upon the color blue and its association with feelings of angst, melancholy, and depression. It is, secondarily, a symbolic play upon the musical genre of “Blues,” which was developed within the Black American musical tradition. 

I chose a single figure to dominate the composition in order to create a more powerful visual impact. Making the figure female was a personal choice that was more helpful to me than anything else. I felt the female figure was more accessible for this particular theme because it often evokes more empathetic sensibilities than a male figure does. In addition, because this theme was so personal for me, I needed to depersonalize it a bit so that I could create some psychological distance from my own creation. 

She sits with her back facing the viewer and a silhouette profile that almost (but not quite) turns back over her shoulder to meet the viewer’s gaze. The moon and its light frames her head and shoulders even as it forms the silhouette of her hair and head. As usual, I took a few liberties with the figure by making the head (focal point) somewhat larger than the remainder of the figure. I also placed more form and detail in the figure despite the hair and head being flatter and indistinct. This creates more visual interest and allows for the inclusion of highlights and reflected light from other light sources around the figure that help illuminate it. The placement of the fingers of the left hand peeking out over the right arm helps to emphasize the contemplative and melancholy mood of the image. 

I purposely left the ground beneath her indistinct as well. I leave the viewer to decide if she sits upon a blanket, a bed, the ground…etc.

TAKE ACTION: To purchase the original image, send an email to info@damonpowell.com. You can also purchase a print copy and get $10 off your first print purchase if you join his mailing list.