Europe at night

Oil on Canvas 2011

Senior Art Show

While traveling throughout Europe in January 2011 I was constantly awed with how different cities would be transformed in the night lighting. The night became a whole new world to discover. These nocturnal paintings focus on the play between light and dark. In my processes of creating I tried to recreate the atmosphere of what is was like to be there. At each place there was a different feeling. The outside of Notre Dame is eerie, with the gargoyles staring down, and the bell tower shooting up into the sky in a daunting green. The inside of the Notre Dame at night the lights give a mysterious feeling. The warmth of the lights contradicts with the cold structure of the archways gives an uneasy feeling. The Eiffel Tower gives sleek and feminine feeling as she soars and sparkles into the night sky. The Arch de Triumph has a looming feeling. Its’ tremendous size gives a feeling of being small. 

As I was traveling I took these pictures at night, which is difficult because I did not bring a tripod. So I had to improvise and use other objects around me to stabilities the camera. Then when I came back I was able to use some of the images to create the paintings. I started out by using charcoal on the canvas to create the structural lines. Then I used oil so that I could better create an expressionistic painting that gave a feeling and not just recreate it visually. In order to show the vastness of each monument or building I found it necessary to use large canvases. At first I tried using the average size of canvas board, but it did not convey the size. The combination of all of these elements creates a nocturnal feeling of what it was like to be there.