Watercolor Artist - USA (2019-02)

78 Watercolor artist | FEBRUARY 2019

Bright Ideas

Thames After Homer

(London)

(graphite and

watercolor on paper,

It’s Sunset Somewhere 6½x4¼)



he representation of a nighttime

scene, traditionally referred to

as a nocturne, presents a fasci-

nating and exciting challenge when

the chosen medium is watercolor.

h is medium, which is all about light

and transparency, would seem to be

counter to the demands of represent-

ing a scene layered with dark tones

and only glimmers of light, whether

from the moon or the artii cial illumi-

nation of lamps or candles.

h e term “nocturne” seems to have

originated with the ef orts of James

Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

depicting i reworks and scenes at

dusk along the River h ames in the

1870s (see Nocturne in Blue and Gold:

Old Battersea Bridge, opposite). h e

results hardly met with universal

acclaim, and the great art critic John

Ruskin was so condemning that

Whistler sued him in court—and

won! Much earlier, the 17th-century

Italian artist Caravaggio had pioneered

the representation of dark scenes dra-

matically lit by a bright source of light,

such as a candle. h is came to be called

chiaroscuro, literally, “clear/obscure”

or “light/dark” (see h e Calling of Saint

Matthew, opposite).

I’ve painted many nocturnes fea-

turing landmarks around the world,

but my ef orts began with the subject

of the h ames; I set out to copy a

watercolor by a great master, Winslow

We shed a little light on the history of the nocturne—

and how best to achieve your own night paintings.

By Stephen Harby