Pachyderm ParadeOriginal Oil
6.75" X 14"
Well, maybe I should say small paintings.
I find playing with sizes less than one square foot interesting. With a small working space, I can try out ideas and use different styles. This painting is loose and I worked to bring in an expansive feel in a painting less than 7 inches high. As you can see from the tiger painting Cool Stripes posted below, I used a tighter style especially around the cat's face.
Another advantage to these types of paintings is that it gives me a breather from major "statement" pieces. I can work out problem areas as I go and don't need to have all the painting decisions made before I start. For instance, in Pachyderm Parade my reference had a lot more vegetation to the right of the lead elephant. I decided to take out the dense bushes to enhance the feeling of space. When I did my underlying sketch I put no detail in that area and then winged it. I also bumped up the contrast on the elephants. Countless other decisions were made on the fly.
In pieces of a medium size, 18" X 24", or large ones over 6 square feet, I spend a lot of time in the planning stage working out just how I will tackle certain areas before I even pick up a paintbrush. These small paintings let me try out fresh and intriguing paths and let my often logical intellectual approach take a back seat.
4 comments:
I like this one a lot Linda.
I'm not sure I fully understand your need to have planned the execution of the larger pieces so carefully while feeling free to wing it with the smaller ones. Can you elaborate?
Hi Peter,
While there may be areas in a larger piece I don't have carefully scripted, on these smaller pieces I tend to experiment more. Trying different ways to tackle trees, water, etc. I find it easier to play with alternate approaches if I am not trying to cover a huge area, especially since I like to work wet-on-wet. In a large area, it just seems like too much paint to shove around not knowing where it will end up. Also, if it doesn't work in a small painting, I don't have as much time invested in the piece.
Make sense?
Linda
Makes perfect sense - thanks Linda!
Hi Linda,
I really like the looseness of this piece. I get as much enjoyment at looking at the subjects and surroundings as I do observing the abstractions in the brushstrokes. Takes my eyes on an adventure in many dimensions.
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