Night Lights: Oil Pastels "En Plein Air"

The days are getting longer and darkness is upon us sooner. Sadly, this can mean less time outside but, if you are  up for taking your art to the streets at night, it can also mean making new outdoor discoveries! So much of the excitement and anticipation around Halloween is the idea of just being outside at night. It is as though our familiar neighbourhood becomes an entirely new landscape when the sun goes down and the street lights come on. The candy deal is just an added bonus really.

Many of our Little Artist's studies have to do with celebrating the way in which artists capture the impact of light on various objects, figures, and landscapes. The impressionists in particular, help us to see light in new ways. One evening, we decided to take our sketch pads and oil pastels outside to sketch our street! We discovered that light gets really interesting to study when it comes from sources other than the sun - sources like the moon, a street lamp or even car headlights that pass by.

The stars featured in the expressionist painting "Starry Night"  by Van Gogh are the most famous example of a nightscape that we know but other beautiful masterpieces abound! Here are a few of our favourites:

Some Favourite Nightscapes