During June of 2001, I spent a month or a moon cycle in the desert of New Mexico. During that stay I decided to view and document the activity of the moon from the same location each night. Through this experiment, I discovered that the moon would set at different positions on the horizon each night. A pattern was detected. The moon would set from 3-6 degrees further south each night during the waxing phases and then 3-6 degrees further north each night during the waning phases. The two diagrams on this page are the result of this experiment. Furthermore , experiments such as these also made it clear to me that the moon makes a different span through the sky each night. This will change nightly over 13 moon cycles at which point the spans will then repeat. For instance, a full moon in January elevates very high in the sky. One might say overhead. By contrast, a July full moon seems to only get slightly above the horizon. I am developing a series of paintings in which I observe and document the moons' movement through the course of one night at different points in a moon cycle and at different times of the year. These observations are made in a place where I have good access to the sky. In the winter, I often do them in a position out on a frozen lake. In the warmer months, I do them in a swamp. Laying the paintings out requires figuring out how to work in the atmosphere.
