Night of the Sugar Moon

What is a sugar moon anyway? Well, it could be the 1947 catchy country swing song by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys but depending on where you live and what you're harvesting, it tends to be the name given to the full moon right after winter's thaw. For us, living in the Northern Hemisphere, it fell in March right when we were given orders to stay safe during the pandemic. I found it difficult to sleep many a night and could always find comfort staring at the glow of the oncoming sugar moon.

It's around this time of year that sap begins to leak from wrinkles in the maple tree bark where it is collected and transformed into the sweet delicacy that is usually stored in a maple syrup jug pot just like the vintage one represented in this painting.

Although it was difficult to find inspiration during a dark time in our lives, I'm glad I stuck out the seemingly countless hours to bring this piece together. I wanted every texture to be virtually tactile, color to be saturated and alive when much seemed dim. The sugar moon was a pleasant reminder to take the time to harvest the sweet things in my life.