The Long Awaited Summer Stargazing Collection Has Arrived!

Were you holding your breath for this?

I set an intention of creating this collection two years ago! I began then, but it took finding and attending a formal photoshop class for pattern design for me to finally find my way through the tech side of creating a pattern, you can now exhale.

Introducing Summer Stargazing Collection

The Hero

This collection began with Blue and Gold Starry Night, which was inspired by a World Watercolor Month July 2018 prompt: Family Moments.

The moment I chose was the memory of introducing our children to space, and viewing the stars, as well as the wonders of the night sky, while waiting for the firework's show to begin, the night sky was explored.

The artwork, Blue and Gold Starry Night, was juried into a Space Themed exhibit in June 2019, celebrating 50 years since man walked on the moon.

A cosmosphere dish was set to 4 July 9pm to guide the star pattern, those dots are gold watercolor pigment, and actual constellations!

Supporting Cast

Moon Phases and Fireflies Dance

Moon Phases The best stargazing happens with just moonlight, a quick gaze at the moon, and guessing what shapes one sees. For this artwork the wondrous Neocolor II water-soluble wax pastels were brought out to add texture to the watercolor.

Enough fireflies flickering creates a constellation. Part of stargazing would have us distracted by the fireflies. I designed this pattern for one to just barely see the fireflies form, and allow their glow to dance across the dark blue night sky. Just like in nature.

Not to be Forgotten

Blue and Gold on Night Sky Plaid

I actually painted plaid! But, that was just the beginning of the challenge. Creating a pattern in Photoshop, from the artwork, was a real challenge.

Why a plaid? Because my creative brain niggled at me about puzzling out painting a plaid. But, it is a wonderful representation of grabbing blankets to throw on the dewy ground when we would stargaze from our backyard.

My painted plaid is a contemporary take on buffalo plaids, the colors of a night sky with a touch of gold, bringing back magical summer nights. Using Photoshop allowed me to do two things:

1. Size it to fit several product types for wall art, home decor, tabletop and more!

2. Create additional colorways: Gray and Yellow were brought in to compliment the fireflies.

Summer memories are the best, and stargazing is the icing on the memory cake. What is your magical summer family memories? Comment below. Enjoyed this post? Tap the heart.

To see the new collection as a wall art gallery, and additional patterns and colorways, click the button below.

Summer Stargazing Collection

Thank you for reading, and may you have a beautiful summer creating family memories.