The Night is Ours Again

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

She turned to the sunlight

And shook her yellow head,

And whispered to her neighbor:

“Winter is dead.”

- A. A. Milne

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose John Singer Sargent

We hope the whispering daffodils are right, even though recently they took quite a beating from winter’s unexpected resuscitation! Next week, we are teaching the first of a three-night plein air nocturne class, and are hoping for fair, spring-like weather. We plan to paint the night lights and colors of our riverfront and in one of the downtown city parks. With fair skies we will also be able to take advantage of the light of a full moon, allowing us to paint a landscape in the dark of our country setting around the studio. This will be a fun experience for all the participants, most of whom have never painted outdoors at night. There are many reasons why painters don’t explore the night—security being at the top of the list, followed perhaps by unfamiliarity with the process. A…