Roberta Kapsalis

Painting a Cityscape at Night

The Old Bridge of Mostar

BY ROBERTA KAPSALIS

Artist, Professor, Graphic Designer

Mostar, Herzegovina

Using the app “Brushes”, Roberta Kapsalis starts with a dark summer sky, and teaches us to fill the frame with beauty, depth, color, faith, and hope.

Since I’m painting at night, I start with large, opaque strokes to create the dark blue background, and then a tan brush to rough in the composition.

Next, I define the horizon with details we see through the bridge, some foreground building details, the water below and its reflection.

The old bridge of Mostar is made of stone, so during the day it’s all grey. At night, there are large yellow lights surrounding it, which turns many of the stones to a golden hue yet leaves some stones grey in a beautiful patchwork.

To paint a proper starry night, I have to zoom in quite a bit. That way, using a very tiny brush, I can draw dots that will be softened later, to give the impression of distant stars. The addition of green foliage helps establish a vivid foreground and a link to the background.

iPhone and iPad painting is great because you can redo parts of the image over and over again until you are satisfied with the result. While I was painting the old bridge, the ambience of the sky and the light changed several times before the piece was finished, and these changes are expressed as very light washes of color, blended together to create atmosphere.

Finishing touches include adding some deep reds, to make the distant hills more vibrant, warming up some of the window light and then, using very small opaque brushes, to paint in all fine details on the rooftops and the bridge.