Moonlight

Abstract


 
 
 The moon is the biggest object in the night sky. Its light has always fascinated. That special quality of light invites all kinds of superstition, from the healing power of the waning moon to good luck during full moon, from disabled children to pots of gold. Sometimes the moon appears blue, white, yellow or red. In the middle of the night, its light turns everything silver. How can we make an analogue print on paper and capture this ever- changing companion of our lives? How can we show the fickle quality of moonlight? In this paper we explain why the moon has so many colours but is mostly seen as silver to the human eye and we chart the progress of our attempts to translate this special optical feature into print by exploring different ink formulations, and their influence on the optical appearance of a wood engraving of the moon.