The Moon in Art | Why we love to paint the Moon

Our celestial neighbour has inspired artists throughout history. Stargazing in the middle of a city can be tricky, but the moon never disappoints, acting like constant reminder that we live on a tiny planet in a vast universe. It is always present with it waxing and waning, from new moon to full moon, then back again.

We love reading about how the moon has inspired people throughout history, whether it is helping tracking the seasons of the year, or as a source of inspiration for artworks, stories and myths. In many cultures a month started with the first appearance of the thin crescent of the new moon. The word month has is origin in the Moon. A month was originally defined to be roughly equal to the cycle of the lunar phases.

The dusky ball of rock in the sky sure is beautiful and that’s why we love to paint it so much! Here are some examples of how the moon has inspired our art and how we created some of our most popular artworks in our moon collection.

Full Moon Names

We created this artwork taking inspiration from nicknames of the moon. The print was created with Indian inks with digital drawing on top. In ancient times, it was common to track the changing seasons by following the lunar month rather than the solar year. The full moon name was often a description relating to a particular activity or event that occurred during that month, like Harvest Moon, Flower Moon, Strawberry Moon, or Snow Moon.

Dramatic Moon Painting

This moon painting was created by Rebecca Hunter. The painting was made with acrylic paint with Indian inks over the top. The clouds were created with a bleach rub. The painting makes a dramatic impact and inspires curiosity and wonder about our lunar neighbour.

Dramatic Moon Art Print, available from £25

Black and White Moon Art Print

This moon Illustration was created by Maria Nilsson. Starting with a detailed drawing of the moon in pen and pencil, Maria then built up the background by stacking layers of drawings digitally, creating a sense of depth. The black background drawing makes a striking backdrop for the pale white moon, while also creating a sense of the vastness of the space, in which the moon orbits.

Phases of the Moon Art

The Phases of the Moon art print is a collaboration piece created by Maria and Rebecca using Indian inks. The artwork follows the cycle of the moon, from new moon though the waxing crescent moon to full moon, then waning back to the new moon again. A dreamy illustration detailing the Moon's monthly phases and their names.

The eight phases of the Moon are:

New Moon
Waxing Crescent
First Quarter
Waxing Gibbous
Full Moon
Waning Gibbous
Last Quarter
Waning Crescent

September Harvest Moon

The Harvest Moon is perhaps the most well known moon nickname. The Harvest Moon usually occurs in September. It is the closest full Moon to the autumnal equinox and it would signify when people would harvest for the coming winter.