Illustration: Orchids in the Moonlight

It was Rose Tyrien for Colour Collective this week, and I chose to be inspired by the 1933 song 'Orchids in the Moonlight", music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Gus Kahn and Edward Eliscu. The song is from the film Flying Down To Rio (Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers' first film together) and is technically a tango to match the South American setting, but Asia has more orchids than South America and really I just wanted to draw a hot-pink cheongsam. I've seen a lot of hot-pink Chinese silks in my time. Such are the deep reasons behind my for-fun pieces.

When orchids bloom in the moonlight

and lovers vow to be true, 

I can still dream in the moonlight, 

of one dear night that we knew.

When orchids fade in the dawning, 

they speak of tears and goodbye.

Though my dreams are shattered

like the petals scattered

still my love can never die.

There is peace in the twilight

when the day is through,

but the shadows that fall

only seem to recall

all my longing for you.

There is a dream in the moonbeams

upon a sea of blue

but the moonbeams that fall

only seem to recall

love is all, love is you.

Yes. Cheerful, I know. If you would like to hear it, here is a clip from the movie, sung by Raul Roulien. He will suddenly decide to be extra-noble approximately 30 seconds before the end of the film. He's not being noble here, he's laying groundwork that will ultimately prove to be a waste of effort.

I looked at old Chinese posters from the 30s while drawing this, some of them were so beautifully painted. 

This the eighth in this series. I wonder if I will run out of moon songs or inspiration before Colour Collective runs out of colours?

Adobe Photoshop CC with a Wacom Cintiq Companion 2. Still inspired by Coles Phillips and his fadeaway girls.