Scott Ruthven - Blog: Plein Air

Art of The Nocturne

3/12/2017 11:02:31 PM

As I paint more nocturnes I'm learning more about what works. Here are some key learnings I want to share with you.

1. Have a good light - I use a book light with a cobb LED. This type of LED is so bright, it's amazing. The clip end houses the 2 AAA batteries which run for hours. Get a light with a balanced light color...not too blue or yellow. New, high output bulbs produce a nice white light.

2. Pre-tone your canvas a dark color. I'm still experimenting with this but find that if I tone my canvas black or some dark mix of an earth tone and ultramarine blue and let that dry it is much easier to start the painting. If you start with a white surface you have to lay down a lot of darks...which will muddy up your lights when you go to put them in. Much of this struggle is eliminated if you begin with a dark, dry surface.

3. Slow down and enjoy the painting. Take time to let your eyes acclimate to the darkness. There is so much subtle variation and there is no hurry since the light sources are fixed (signs, street lights) and you don't have any moving shadows. Basically, depending on the scene, you might have all night so take your time to really see the color and value relationships and work to get those right on your canvas the first time. Having said this, I have been happily painting a scene when all of a sudden the main lit sign in my painting shut off for the night. Oh well, that happens....just pack it up and try again another night.

I painted "1AM At The Crossing" out in the country. It took me about a couple hours and I wrapped it up at about 1:30AM. I parked off the side of the dirt road and painted from inside of the bed of my pickup. Only one car passed by the entire time...otherwise there was no other light source and no people anywhere around. It was so peaceful and relaxed. I learned a lot by taking my time on this one.

Check out this quick video I made on YouTube: Nocturne Tips

I made the painting below over three sessions, starting at dusk each night so I could catch the transition where the lights on the dam were on but there was still enough light in the sky to make out the mountains and trees.

Happy painting!

Wrapped in Gold

11/7/2015 10:08:47 AM

My painter friends and I have this secret spot in Rocky Mountain National park that we hike to in the Fall to paint. I call it the cathedral because upon entering this grove of Aspen you are enveloped in golden light. The breeze rattles the leaves like a million golden sequins rustling and shimmering overhead and gently raining down all around. It is a magical place and while I was painting this piece, we had a heard of Elk bugling off in the distance.

An in-progress photo. A wonderful day amid the bugling elk under this golden canopy.

Fresh Hay Bales

5/23/2015 6:08:27 PM

I was driving to the foothills to meet up with some other local painters when I came across this small field in the morning light. I just had to paint it so I pulled the truck over and set-up right on the shoulder of the road. The light and atmosphere were just fantastic. Normally the air is clear and dry here in Colorado so we don't have a lot of atmospheric effects. On this morning though, there was enough pollen and moisture to really create a distant haze in the background trees. The golden backlit hay bales seemed to glow against the cool, damp green grasses in shadow. Looking at this piece takes me right back to that morning. Paintings done on-site (en plein air) tend to better capture the overall life of a scene and the nuances of color and value that photographs miss. A photograph would probably capture the bright light on the bales but make the shadows too dark to see into, which would be no help if trying to paint from the photo back in the studio. Plus, I thoroughly enjoyed my time standing there, on the side of the road painting in the morning sunshine. I eventually met up with my friends and we painted into the afternoon.

- Scott