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Painting the Nocturne Landscape (Online Course) Fall 2026 w/ Ben Bauer
October 5 to November 2 (Monday), 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM, Eastern Time
**All sessions are live and will be recorded, students do not have to be present. All recordings will be available to students for 3 months after the final session, after 3 months the recording will be deleted.
Please check your email spam/junk folder for your Zoom invite. Our business hours are 10:00 AM through 5:00 PM. All course information and email correspondence will be sent during business hours. If students purchase a course, workshop, demo or recording outside business hours or during the weekend the course information or recording will be sent the following business day.
DEMO:
Course Description
This class is intended on guiding artist’s through the process of creating a nocturne landscape. This course will include lecture, demos and some exercises. Each artist should leave with an idea on painting a nocturne landscape.
In our class one can expect focused lecture, thoroughly explained demos and constructive feedback. Each student should come prepared with a reference photo or painting that they would like to try as a nocturne painting. We will study how the natural elements present themselves at night. Dig deeper into contrast and shadow work. We will look at color, design and simple exercises to flush the idea and create a nocturne painting. We will do a quick exercise where we find the right color palette for our nocturne. We will cover best practices with materials to use through the painting. We will start our nocturne paintings with the sky and each week we will work thru the next stages of the painting. Each day will cover any questions and update thru the padlet.
Course Outline
Week 1 - Idea Forming
Introduction, background, work examples.
We will all paint along, using your own reference photo or painting.
What is happening at night by the moonlight, analysis of what to look for. Study from life!
Examine the reference photo. If idea is pretty much set, we can start. If not we can spend an hour doing a 4 up demo to find the right palette.
HOMEWORK - search for artists who have done nocturnes and be ready to explain what you find moving about the artist/painting. Very important to seek artists work!
Week 2 - Sky
Follow up - run through Padlet
Demo and assignment
If painting is dry, which it should be, we oil out. Then guide through where to start next on your painting. We can look at alternating layers practice.
We go over the bet practices of where to start and how to work the painting.
Week 3 - Progression
Follow up from week 2 through Padlet.
We all continue to work on the painting. I will be working on mine and thoroughly explain what I am doing.
Week 4 - Produce Painting From Study Work
Follow up from week 3 through Padlet.
Continue working.
Week 5 - Continuing Week 4
We finish the work and have a critique.
A group discussion on what each artist found through the process, what worked what didn’t.
Course Materials List
These are the paints I currently have on my palette, I may use only a few colors for a specific reason. It is not expected for everyone to go out and buy everyone of these brands for the class. They are the ones I love and use.
Paints - (same colors for oil and or acrylic)
Titanium White - Williamsburg
Cad Yellow Light - Williamsburg
Cad Yellow Lemon- Williamsburg
Cad Red light - Williamsburg
Quin Magenta - Windsor Newton
Viridian - Windsor Newton
French Ultramarine Deep - Old Holland
Mars Black - Utrecht
Raw Umber - for toning panels/canvases
Mediums
Linseed oil 15% cut with odorless mineral spirits -85%
NOOD or Artist Mineral Spirit
Brushes
Rosemary and Co - Ivory
Flats size 2-12 - Mainly use 4,6,10
Princeton Dakota 6300 Series
Flats size 2-12 - Mainly use 2,4,6,8
Surfaces
Sketchbook, spiral bound. Value markers
One good surface to paint on for your finished painting. Any size works up to 18x24
2 - 11x14 canvases/panels - quartered like below. These are for exercises.
I use mostly oil primed linen panels and hand primed panels.
Artefex - linen 537
Cleaseens - type 15, 12, 66
October 5 to November 2 (Monday), 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM, Eastern Time
**All sessions are live and will be recorded, students do not have to be present. All recordings will be available to students for 3 months after the final session, after 3 months the recording will be deleted.
Please check your email spam/junk folder for your Zoom invite. Our business hours are 10:00 AM through 5:00 PM. All course information and email correspondence will be sent during business hours. If students purchase a course, workshop, demo or recording outside business hours or during the weekend the course information or recording will be sent the following business day.
DEMO:
Course Description
This class is intended on guiding artist’s through the process of creating a nocturne landscape. This course will include lecture, demos and some exercises. Each artist should leave with an idea on painting a nocturne landscape.
In our class one can expect focused lecture, thoroughly explained demos and constructive feedback. Each student should come prepared with a reference photo or painting that they would like to try as a nocturne painting. We will study how the natural elements present themselves at night. Dig deeper into contrast and shadow work. We will look at color, design and simple exercises to flush the idea and create a nocturne painting. We will do a quick exercise where we find the right color palette for our nocturne. We will cover best practices with materials to use through the painting. We will start our nocturne paintings with the sky and each week we will work thru the next stages of the painting. Each day will cover any questions and update thru the padlet.
Course Outline
Week 1 - Idea Forming
Introduction, background, work examples.
We will all paint along, using your own reference photo or painting.
What is happening at night by the moonlight, analysis of what to look for. Study from life!
Examine the reference photo. If idea is pretty much set, we can start. If not we can spend an hour doing a 4 up demo to find the right palette.
HOMEWORK - search for artists who have done nocturnes and be ready to explain what you find moving about the artist/painting. Very important to seek artists work!
Week 2 - Sky
Follow up - run through Padlet
Demo and assignment
If painting is dry, which it should be, we oil out. Then guide through where to start next on your painting. We can look at alternating layers practice.
We go over the bet practices of where to start and how to work the painting.
Week 3 - Progression
Follow up from week 2 through Padlet.
We all continue to work on the painting. I will be working on mine and thoroughly explain what I am doing.
Week 4 - Produce Painting From Study Work
Follow up from week 3 through Padlet.
Continue working.
Week 5 - Continuing Week 4
We finish the work and have a critique.
A group discussion on what each artist found through the process, what worked what didn’t.
Course Materials List
These are the paints I currently have on my palette, I may use only a few colors for a specific reason. It is not expected for everyone to go out and buy everyone of these brands for the class. They are the ones I love and use.
Paints - (same colors for oil and or acrylic)
Titanium White - Williamsburg
Cad Yellow Light - Williamsburg
Cad Yellow Lemon- Williamsburg
Cad Red light - Williamsburg
Quin Magenta - Windsor Newton
Viridian - Windsor Newton
French Ultramarine Deep - Old Holland
Mars Black - Utrecht
Raw Umber - for toning panels/canvases
Mediums
Linseed oil 15% cut with odorless mineral spirits -85%
NOOD or Artist Mineral Spirit
Brushes
Rosemary and Co - Ivory
Flats size 2-12 - Mainly use 4,6,10
Princeton Dakota 6300 Series
Flats size 2-12 - Mainly use 2,4,6,8
Surfaces
Sketchbook, spiral bound. Value markers
One good surface to paint on for your finished painting. Any size works up to 18x24
2 - 11x14 canvases/panels - quartered like below. These are for exercises.
I use mostly oil primed linen panels and hand primed panels.
Artefex - linen 537
Cleaseens - type 15, 12, 66