I started with a base colour of process cyan, burnt sienna and white, creating a blue, then laid down a pure mixture of burnt sienna and cadmium yellow with a 3in brush in the lower half and left-hand side of the canvas
Can you make a painting at night?
Oct 28 – Nov 28, 2021
Opening reception: Nov 6, 2021 from 4-6pm
In collaboration with Artist/Mother Podcast, Artlink is pleased to host Painting at Night, a group exhibition that was juried by Melanie Cooper Pennington and open internationally to artists identifying as mothers or lifelong caregivers.
The theme for this exhibition was accumulated during episode 28 of the Artist Mother Podcast, a conversation between host, Kaylan Buteyn, and artist Allison Reimus. In the episode, Allison recalls the time she read a statement in a New York Times article about how “You can’t paint at night in your kitchen and hope to be a good artist. It doesn’t work that way.”
In true Artist/Mother fashion, this seemed like a great statement to respond to for a group show, as an act of resistance and rejection. To imply that good art cannot be made in domestic spaces, or that a person cannot claim the title of artist without meeting arbitrary requirements is a patriarchal myth, one that artists who are mothers have been resisting for decades.
Over 400 artworks were submitted to this call. The juror, Melanie Cooper Pennington, narrowed down the exhibition to 63 works by 54 artists, with a broad range of media including painting, drawing, printmaking, ceramic, sculpture, texiles, installation and video.
About the Juror
Melanie Cooper Pennington teaches sculpture in Bloomington at Indiana University. Tired of fitting sculpture around her work as an interior designer in Chicago, after 12 years she left design and transitioned to graduate school to focus full time on her sculpture practice. With the loving support of her partner and 2 kids, she received her MFA in 2016 and has not looked back. She still practices interior design, is a barre workout devotee, walks dogs and cats and acts as the emotional center for her family. Her motto is “more is more.” Click here to view Melanie’s website.
Juror’s Statement
“To Paint at Night requires Elastigirl flexibility, MacGyver resourcefulness and a monastic ability to listen to oneself. The clamor of being a mother resounds even when the children are not present, our bodies are trained to respond at the drop of a pin. So not only must we sometimes paint at night – but we must cultivate our ability to listen to our inner visual/creative compass and ignore the dull or roaring clamor that spins constantly in the background.
When asked to Jury this show I was deeply honored and excited to participate with both Artlink and the Artist/Mother podcast community. I had witnessed the inaugural Painting at Night exhibition over social media in 2020 – and felt seen, as an art maker and mother, just by the title of the show alone. Because I myself, “paint at night”, and I hear in those words the thrum of determination that has always been inside me to use my knowing, and my skills to create, whenever or wherever I can harness the space and time to do so. I love what last year’s juror, Allison Reimus, wrote:
“I recall reading a piece in the New York Times where the man responsible for a performance art space’s move from Brooklyn to Detroit claimed that “you can’t paint at night in your kitchen and hope to be a good artist. It doesn’t work that way.” As artist/ mothers, we are well aware that the separation of the domestic from serious artistic inquiry is a patriarchal myth. Living a life of any kind beyond the stereotypical and outdated confines of what makes a “successful artist” is not bad. It does, however, require flexibility regarding schedules and spaces. This was Kaylan’s impetus for the show, the Artist/ Mother Podcast’s inaugural juried exhibition, Painting at Night.”
The artists in this exhibition are not listening to the doubters but have been practicing the art of listening to themselves. Decisions must be made constantly when creating and editing is one of the most essential and sometimes infuriating aspects. To act and then assess its rightness or wrongness, then erase and try again. And to believe that you will find the right combination, the right material, the right color that will bring your internal vision forward as long as you keep trying is mighty. I love that the point of “it is finished!” in any art piece is only known and can only be decided by the artist themselves and is discovered through the journey of deep listening to oneself.
When I step back now and look at the show, what I see is an overwhelming representation of incredibly talented caregivers who have used their skills to reach beyond themselves and touch others. I feel held by this exhibition and not only because of the presence of soft sculpture. I love soft sculpture and its ability to soften a complicated message, like Stefanie Zito’s piece Margin Expansion, Emily Zarse’s Apron, and Norah Howell’s Self Portrait 9 Months Pregnant with Second Child. But I am also amazed how seeing the fierce textures and reverberating colors in so many of these works – Jordan Sheridan’s Pandiculation, Madeline LeMieux’s Mommy Pile, Tai Lipan’s Flushed and Catherine Reinhart’s Inland Surveying – make me want to live harder, louder, and with more joy.
And then there are the moments of rest, found in the exhibition as found in the day; Leslie Renn’s 1’30”: the length of time my son can be without me, Jill Nicole Luton’s Evening Occasion 2 or the gentle introspection of Erin Boake’s The Path.
So many beautiful works, made by people listening deeply and sharing what they hear. I hope your experience as you wander through this exhibition is like mine, that though I may arrive empty I am filled back in by what I see before me.” – Melanie Cooper Pennington
‘Artists are often drawn to capturing light in their work, more commonly through sunsets or scenes that showcase strong shadows, which naturally enhance daylight,’ says Marie Antoniou.
‘I love the sparkly lights of the city at night. Bridges and buildings lit up at night are beautiful. My GCSE project at school was based on this theme. At school I became fascinated with paintings by Edward Hopper such as Nighthawks, Automat and New York Movie. His use of warm colours to depict artificial lights Illuminated his subjects. Meanwhile, Van Gogh’s depiction of night scenes in paintings such as The Starry Night and Café Terrace at Night was an eye-opener in terms of how marks and strong colours can be exploited to make the painting expressive, impressionistic and colourful.
Malborough Night Café, acrylic, 24x20in (61x51cm)
I was attracted to the cosy warm glow of this scene. I kept a minimal palette, cool colours for the exterior and warm colours for the interior, which reflect on the pavement outside. A very limited amount of white was used in this scene. I opted to showcase the strength of colour and strong contrast to illuminate the lighting in and around the café, while using dark colour tones on the outer edges, which helps to frame it and draw the viewer into the centre. Expressive brushstrokes have also been used.
Why aren’t night scenes more popular?
In my own experience of teaching painting, most people initially veer towards subjects that are lit up by day and not by night. During the day, colours are heightened in subjects such as landscapes, street scenes and still life and details are clearer. Painting ‘the dark’ is certainly trickier and requires a bit more thought.
Of course, practicalities also come into play. Painting down a dark street or under a street lamp is definitely not practical or advisable. But capturing the scene is not impossible.
Be aware
• Your camera is probably your best tool for capturing night scenes
• Be prepared for the unexpected:
I was walking along the seafront one winter evening and noticed a mass of light belly shapes of sanderlings (wading birds) along the water’s edge. In my haste I used my camera phone to capture the scene without realising the flash was on; initially it shocked me and the birds, but they quickly returned and I took a number of photos while they were peacefully huddled along the shoreline, it was a magical moment and the flash on my phone is constantly off now.
Top tips
• Work with you’ve got: lack of light can mean that photos aren’t incredibly clear but you should have enough information to be creative with.
• Plan: Gather photo references – there are many light festivals and times of the year when lighting becomes an art in itself, so plan to take advantage of these events, as some only come around once a year.
• Photographing at night is difficult and you may not always capture what you want, so make mental or written notes on colours, atmosphere etc, anything which you can use at a later stage in your painting.
• If you don’t want to go outside, consider interior scenes. Play around with different light sources or set up a still life under interesting lighting conditions.
• Mixing and matching colours might prove problematic in the dark; my solution would be to paint a night scene during the day.
• Look at other artists and how they portray the subject
Observe
Really look and see how lights feature in the environment.
Whether you are in a town or more rural areas, lights will feature somehow. Observe how they reflect off people, buildings and trees, at how different those things appear at night compared to how they look in daylight.
Look at whether the lights are hard and glaring or soft and colourful. If you are in a rural area overlooking a town from a distance, you can see the halo of light surrounding the area. Take notice of the moon and how it illuminates the sky, creating a halo of its own. Look at interiors too, how they look from the outside at night – a cosy restaurant surrounded by the darkness with warm glows of light always look inviting.
Once you have made your observations, make some decisions on what appeals to you the most. People are attracted to subjects that make the process enjoyable. Don’t shy away from night scenes as the challenge is really worth it, you will realise just how much colour actually gets used once you start painting.
How to Paint a Night Setting
Painting night scenes is not the norm. There are many artists that paint during the early morning and throughout the day. Why not paint at night? The answer is obvious, but some of the best moments to seize are those at sunset. Take your paint set out tonight and test your skills. You may find that you like doing this.
To learn painting night scenes or something similar to the photo above, you will need black, green, blue, white, brown and yellow paints. Use some gesso to put on the canvas first, and do not give it time to dry. You will need a two inch brush to start with. Other brushes needed are a fan style, 1/4″ flat, thin long bristle around a size 3 or 4, #2, #1, and a #00 or #0 size brushes. I prefer using one of those cheap plastic palettes for acrylic paint mixing. Some artists prefer ceramic palettes.
If you want a watercolor style painting use water to dillute the paint. This will still help you in painting night scenes but merely alter the styleTo keep it strictly acrylic use paint thinner used for acrylic paints. The kind you use in painting your house is too strong and will damage your brushes. You may find having duplicate brushes makes the painting go quicker if you are soaking a brush to be cleaned. Have a drying cloth nearby to dry out your brushes. When everything is nearby it will save you plenty of time from running back and forth in cleaning your brushes.
Start by blending a little blue with white, and just a touch of black to get the color of the evening sky. When I say a touch of black, I mean, just a touch. Too much will have you starting all over again. Take your time to get the right color. If clouds are there or you want clouds, hint at them with a tad more white and darken them at the top to show the sun is setting. Too many clouds may take the focus of what you will be painting later on.
Determine your horizon line. How much sky do you want in this painting? Do not go straight down the middle because it will make it seem childish in thought. Either bring the horizon line down or raise it up. Quickly gray in the horizon line with a #2 or #1 paint brush. From there, clean off your two inch brush, and paint in a dark green mixture starting from the bottom. Work your way up towards the underside of the horizon. As you get closer to the horizon, lighten up the dark green a little bit. If what you are viewing is ilghter then paint it as such.
A sure sign you are getting better at painting is understanding that colors are not so distict the further away they are unless they are a light.
To paint the tree in, start with a dark brown mix. Remember, the sun has not completely set, so some colors are still somewhat visible with the refracting light. Catch glipses of brown on the side of the tree facing the sun. Paint these in with a #0 paint brush to let the viewer know that it does have color. Use your #1 brush to paint in the finer branhes, while using the long bristle brush for the larger limbs. You can use the flat brush for the leaves using a dark green in combination with black to show some leaves don’t have color.
Bushes are sometimes best put in with a fan brush. Lightly dab the color you mixed onto the canvas. The #1 or #0 brushes are best for painting in their stalks and limbs. Use these same brushes to add hints of grass here and there, and to dab in slightly gray trees in the background.
Finish up with various size yellow spots here and there. Be careful not to make them too big. The larger dots can have a dab of brown or black at one side to show there is a body to the lightning bug. Do not get too carried away as this will also ruin the wonderful work you started.
The final step in your painting is to sign and date it. You do not have to date it, but if you plan on selling it that will be a plus. Now you have your night time painting. You can paint it however you want. What I have explained is rather simple, and is a start for someone new at painting.
Thank you for reading this article! If you have any further questions about this topic please contact us.
