Discover the stillness of the night and the artistry of starlight in this elegant, immersive workshop. Learn to observe the heavens with an artist’s eye and create atmospheric works that honour both the beauty of the cosmos and the rarity of truly dark skies. Designed for artists, creatives, and stargazers, this workshop offers a refined space to connect deeply with nature and elevate your creative practice. This workshop is a collaboration between Gael Hillyard and astronomer David Davidson.

What You’ll Experience

• Professional guidance on reading and interpreting the night sky

• Techniques for sketching and painting under natural, low-light conditions

• Experimentation with materials to capture celestial depth, texture, and luminosity

• Insights into the ecological and cultural importance of preserving dark skies *

Content

1. Celestial Mapping: Create a detailed star chart of your chosen view.

2. Lunar Light Study: Capture the moon’s glow on water or landscape using layered washes.

3. Atmospheric Textures: Experiment with ink, salt, and resist techniques to recreate the expansive night sky.

Reflections

• How does drawing in true darkness shift your creative process?

• What emotional resonance do dark skies hold for you?

• How can artists help raise awareness of light pollution?

Next Steps

• Begin a dedicated night sky art journal.

• Explore advanced astronomical tools to inform your compositions.

• Incorporate dark-sky advocacy into your practice.*

*Protecting The Skies in the Scottish Highlands

The Scottish Highlands are one of Europe’s last sanctuaries of natural night. Yet this darkness, once a defining part of life in the Highlands, is fading under the pressure of artificial light, urban development, and the rapid expansion of satellite constellations.

The ecological, cultural, and spiritual importance of darkness is profound; however, there is growing evidence that artificial light at night (ALAN) disrupts the rhythms of pollinators, birds, bats, and plants, while diminishing astronomical observation and severing a connection to the stars that has shaped humanity for thousands of years.

• Pollinator Crisis: Research shows that meadows lit at night receive 62 per cent fewer nocturnal pollinator visits, resulting in reduced seed and fruit production (Nature, Knop et al, 2017).

• Ecological Instability: Lighting fragments habitats, alters migration patterns, and accelerates insect decline.

• Astronomy Under Threat: Sky brightness is increasing at around 10 per cent annually, worsened by satellite constellations leaving visible trails across the sky (Science, Walker, C. E., et al, 2023)

• Highland Leadership: Community projects, such as the Abriachan Forest Trust and the Highland Astronomical Society with its Observatory on Culloden Moor, demonstrate how darkness can be an ecological asset, a cultural resource, and a source of sustainable tourism.

• A Call to Action: Scotland can lead by adopting dark sky lighting codes, creating dark-sky infrastructure and wildlife corridors, and treating darkness as an ecological asset.

Darkness is not just the absence of light. It is a biological and cultural necessity, a rhythm that shaped humanity’s imagination and knowledge. To lose the stars is to lose a mirror of ourselves. The Highlands still hold this treasure, but its future depends on conscious stewardship and decisive action. And that is up to us.