Across the Street, 7:48 p.m.

 

12/2/25 Maple Leaf neighborhood

I’ve kicked off nocturne season with my most convenient night view: the house across the street. Their lights and decorations are (thankfully) more subdued than in some years, but I’m bracing myself – they might not be done yet. I prefer sketching during the half-done stage before the inflatables and blinky stuff appear. (Here’s how the same house looked in 2023 and in 2022.)

Often I prefer making nocturnes in the pre-dawn quiet when the family is still asleep, and no interior lights clash with festive lights. This time I tried an evening view after they turned out their diningroom lights. The tree in the window looked lovely.

Simple kit with the essential light

Material notes: I’m keeping my nocturne sketch kit simple again: A white Prismacolor, a white Gelly Roll, and a couple of Posca paint markers. Initially, I had used pink and green metallic Posca markers, but when I scanned the image, I was disappointed that the tiny dots of color didn’t really show. I went back in with regular red and green Poscas, and they showed up better.

An essential item in a good nocturne sketch kit is a light. I’m pleased with the Gritin LED book light that I got last year. It’s so lightweight that even a softcover, landscape-format Uglybook (which is none too stiff) can hold up its weight when I stand at the livingroom window to sketch.