How to Paint the Northern Lights in Watercolor (An Easy Beginner Tutorial)
The Aurora Borealis looks complicated.
Fortunately, it isn’t.
One of my favorite projects for beginning watercolor students is painting the Northern Lights because it teaches several important watercolor techniques while producing a painting that looks far more difficult than it actually is. Even students with very little experience can walk away with a successful painting.
That’s always a confidence booster.
What You’ll Learn
- Wet-into-wet watercolor washes
- Creating smooth color transitions
- Preserving the white of the paper
- Building depth with multiple layers
- Using dry brush for foreground texture
- Creating dramatic contrast with dark values
Start With the Sky
The Northern Lights are all about soft transitions.
Begin by thoroughly wetting the sky area with clean water. This allows the colors to flow naturally into one another without creating hard edges.
I usually begin with blues and greens, although violets can create beautiful aurora effects as well. Don’t worry about making perfectly smooth ribbons of light. Nature isn’t perfect, and neither should your painting be.
Let the watercolor move.
The more you fight it, the less convincing the aurora becomes.
One of watercolor’s greatest strengths is its ability to create soft atmospheric effects. The Northern Lights are a perfect excuse to let the medium do what it does best.
Preserve the Light
You can preserve the white of the paper (to create stars) with masking fluid. Once the mask (frisket) if dry you can paint over it very quickly when you create the Northern Lights.
Or:
You can spatter white paint on top of the Northern Lights later.
Create Depth
After the sky has dried, begin adding the landscape.
Keep distant hills simple and slightly lighter.
As you move toward the foreground, gradually darken your values. The increasing contrast creates the illusion of depth and makes the glowing sky appear even brighter.
Sometimes the easiest way to make light look brighter is simply to make the surrounding darks darker.
Keep the Trees Simple
Many beginning painters spend far too much time drawing individual branches.
Don’t.
A simple silhouette is often far more effective.
A rigger brush makes quick work of pine trees, and varying their heights creates a much more natural appearance than making them all identical.
Remember, trees in nature aren’t perfectly spaced or perfectly shaped.
Less Is More
One of the biggest mistakes students make is continuing to fiddle with the painting.
The Northern Lights are soft.
Atmospheric.
Mysterious.
If you overwork the sky, you’ll lose much of that magic.
Sometimes the best decision is putting the brush down and letting the watercolor speak for itself.
Watercolor Should Look Like Watercolor
There’s nothing wrong with painting a photorealistic aurora.
But personally, I want watercolor to behave like watercolor.
I want soft edges.
I want glowing washes.
I want pigments to mingle naturally on the paper.
The Aurora Borealis is one of the best subjects for embracing those characteristics.
Rather than fighting the medium, let watercolor create the atmosphere for you.
You’ll be surprised how quickly an intimidating subject becomes one of the easiest and most enjoyable landscapes to paint.
Watch the complete step-by-step video below and paint along with me.
See exactly how I created this painting in the complete video tutorial:
How Does This Compare?
Snowy Landscape Tutorial
A great companion lesson for beginners. Both projects teach preserving the white of the paper, but snowy landscapes focus more on dry brush textures and creating believable snow.
Atmospheric Watercolor Trees
If you struggle with painting convincing pine trees, this lesson dives deeper into creating loose, organic trees without painting every branch.
Intentional Blossoms Watercolor Whale
The whale demonstration explores letting watercolor move naturally across the paper. While the subject is very different, the underlying lesson—allowing watercolor to do some of the work—is exactly the same.
Watercolor Flowers Using Intentional Blossoms
Flowers teach timing and water control through blossoms. The Aurora Borealis uses many of those same wet-into-wet principles but applies them to glowing skies instead of petals.
UNC Old Well Watercolor Demonstration
This lesson combines several watercolor techniques—including wet-into-wet washes, layering, and controlled edges—into one complete painting. Once you’re comfortable with the Northern Lights, it’s an excellent next step.
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Ryan Fox AWS, NWS, TWSA
Ryan Fox Painting
(919) 645-8345