Color of night

» mitch87 - Using oils to paint night scenes

Please help. I have been trying to paint night scenes; dark with a glow of certian objects at the moon light strikes the object. can anybody help me? Fredrick Remmington seemed to be an expert on this technique and I would like to experiment with dark, night scenes. specifically, what colors to use for the sky and what colors would you use to paint sage brush and other land scapes? In case I get lost and can't find my way back to this site, if you are serious about discusing this topic, drop me a line at mitchbattese@yahoo.com
Thanks

-- posted by mitch87

Permalink Print Discussion Email Discussion Join the latest discussions

» Pictorist - Re: Using oils to paint night scenes

Dear Mitch

I recently completed a 600 square foot mural at Chukars Sports Casino in Fernley, NV that included a moonlit scene with playa and sagebrush. One of the things I usually do at the outset of a painting is to organize my concepts in composition and color theory. If you haven't checked out Joseph Albers' book on color theory, you should, it is a great text for gaining an assimilated understanding of the subject.

The main thing in painting a nocturne (the name for night scenes) is to keep your colors in the blues, blacks and grays. I model most of the scene as if it is an underexposed black and white photograph. Depending on where the moon is, I highlight the scene where the moonlight would strike using Titanium white and cad yellow light to achieve a pale yellow-white. The dark components of my palette are Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Umber or Sienna (depends on the relative warmth of color that I want)Viridian Green and Alizarin Crimson. In mixing the latter two, one can achieve some real nuances of dark colors. I encourage you to experiment with this limited palette - you'll be able to produce just about any color, but above all, experiment. I do have photos available on request.

-- posted by Pictorist

Permalink Print Discussion Email Discussion Join the latest discussions