Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

A Primer on Night Painting

Midnight, Bear Lake Pastel John Hulsey

“I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day”.
-Vincent Van Gogh

Strong moonlight adds an essential element to the night landscape - shadows. Without shadows, there is little depth or dimension. And the night landscape is an intriguing and wonderful subject, so painting under a cloudless sky with a full moon is a peak experience.

I have tried to paint at night with oils, but it is very difficult to mix the proper values as one looks back and forth from dimly-lit palette to the subject. Even under a bright full moon, where the eye can perceive a 5-step value range in the landscape, I have found it nearly impossible to select or mix oil colors on a palette without some supplemental lighting. So when the light of day is done and the moon begins to shine, pastels make night painting much more fun.

The trouble with most supplemen…