Canadian Landscape Series - Painting 7 of 13: Northern Lights, Northwest Territories

This is a post about Northern Lights, Northwest Territories - 1 of 13 paintings in my 2024 Canadian Landscape series. If you would like to read about the series as a whole, you can find that post here. 

Northern Lights, Northwest Territories

Northern Lights, Northwest Territories (2023) - part of my Canadian Landscape series

Northern Lights, Northwest Territories was the seventh painting I completed from my Canadian Landscape series. It was completed in August 2023.

​Northwest Territories was the first painting I completed after returning home from being evacuated for the wildfires in August. When we left, we didn't have space to bring all of my original paintings with us, so I had to leave them behind. I was unsure if I would ever see them again. I left Northwest Territories partially completed in my studio, so when I was able to finish this painting, I felt very grateful!

Photo Credit: Vincent Guth (Unsplash)

​My goal for this series was to capture the essence of each province and territory in a painting. When I think of the Northwest Territories, I think of the northern lights! This isn't just a stereotype. Northwest Territories is well known for being the best place in Canada to see the northern lights. 

I debated between painting somewhere specific, or sticking with a non-specific snowy forest scene. 

​As I was researching the Northwest Territories to learn what makes it unique from the other provinces and territories, I found several beautiful places that would have been perfect for my painting - including some stunning waterfalls!

In the end, I chose the snowy forest as I wanted to ensure the northern lights were the main focal point. I was inspired by photos like the one above taken by Vincent Guth. 
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This was the second painting where I used horizontal lines in the sky rather than vertical lines. I think horizontal lines worked well for Northwest Territories as they created a more impactful northern lights. You can watch a video of me finishing the sky below.

​I also used a full-range of greyscales from black to white, and this created bold, visually-stunning contrast. ​

Northern Lights, Northwest Territories (2023)

The next painting I completed from this series was Polar Bears in Churchill, Manitoba.

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