Moonstruck – Ulla Thynell

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In 2022 I created a series of moon themed paintings: Harvest Moon, New Moon and Blue Moon. I also made an animated version of one of these paintings recently, and decided to feature the whole series here in my blog along with the new animation.

The art prints are available on Society6! My photos above feature size Small art prints, but they come in several sizes from XS to XL, and you can choose from different frames, or buy the print without a frame. Here are the shopping links:

You can also get all these illustrations as some other print products, linked later in this article.

Blue Moon by Ulla Thynell
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Generally speaking I make art using various different techniques and art media. For these three pieces I used a specific combo of traditional and digital tools. I started with painting several separate layers of background elements with calligraphy inks and watercolours, and continued drawing some details with coloured pencils. Then I scanned and combined all the separate layers together, continuing editing them digitally in Photoshop.

This technique is quite complex, but allows a lot more editing possibilities than entirely traditional art (which I also love to make). I guess you could also create something like this fully digitally from scratch, but do I love the feel of real paper and paints and pencils so much – it feels easy and natural approach to me. I think the traditionally made elements add a special something which I enjoy both in the working process and in the end result.

I created the animated version of Blue Moon using mainly After Effects, although I needed Photoshop and Premiere Pro a little as well. I haven’t used AE for about 10 years, and forgot just about everything I learned before, so this little project worked as kind of a warm-up for me. I didn’t want to spend weeks on the animation so it’s not perfect – I might do some things differently in the next one. I would really like to continue making animated versions of my art every now and then, if I have the time (and the spoons).

New Moon by Ulla Thynell
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I don’t usually like to talk too much about the meanings in my work – for one, I am a big fan of ambiguity, and also interpretation is generally something I want to save for the viewer. I think it is better to approach the art unbiased. My personal meanings may be very different than the viewer’s, and both can exist together. Everyone interprets a painting from their unique perspective, and how you read a piece also tends to change over time, reflecting your moods and life experiences. This is another reason I don’t feel comfortable sharing too many detailed thoughts and feelings behind my own artworks – they are often about deeply personal matters.

Harvest Moon by Ulla Thynell
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You can find the Moon in so many of my illustrations (not just these three), and it holds some universal meanings and well as personal connotations for sure. Often I realise my own meanings only after the piece is complete. In other words, my personal artwork is usually intuitive, rather than precalculated. In any case, I try to avoid force feeding any messages – you are free to view my work as just something pretty or soothing to look at, or you can look deeper into it and find more, if you are so inclined.