On my recent trip to Santa Fe, NM I attempted my first nocturne painting. What a disaster! I got set up too late so almost missed the sunset; I couldn't see the color of the paint on my palette; and my bright headlamp obliterated the values in front of me. A fellow painter told me to turn the light to the red so you can at least see the value. Needless to say, I just started throwing paint on the canvas to capture the fleeting image. I was surprised that anything came of it. I almost didn't post this because it is so rough, but I thought in the interest of learning about nocturnes it was a good learning experience.
This is what I learned:
1) Get there early so you have time to set up and think about your composition.
2) Have a headlamp that can be switched to the red light as well as a light for the palette.
3) You only have time for the big shapes so get them down quickly.
4) Use a big brush.
Would I do it again? Absolutely! I loved the challenge of trying to get a painting of a sunset. It was so much more thrilling than painting from a picture. Now that I have the right equipment I'm ready to try a full moon painting.
Thank you for sharing the reality and the lessons. I haven't tried this but would like to. Headlamps, who knew? I rather like the loose style.
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