It’s been awhile since I added a post, so many things have happened since I was here last. For one, I had an “epiphany” of sorts back in September.
I met a man who is quite an accomplished painter. He spent much of his life as a free-lance illustrator which meant he spent a lot of time drawing. Since he was always on assignments he could not avoid having to draw nearly every day. He said he made a fairly good amount of money during those free-lance days to be able, now in his early 50’s, to devote his time to painting. This is everyone's dream.
Actually, it was my son who introduced me to him and when I saw his web page and samples of his work I immediately felt I had “come home”. What astouded me was the fact that he works alot on small canvases, like 6” x 9”, or 8” x 12”. Of course, he does not limit himself just to those sizes. There are times when larger formats are necessary as well.
But the smaller sizes are what intrigued me. After some thought about why the small sizes I came to realize that it is a great “teaching” method to get me to thnk big in a small space. In other words, one is forced to see that grove of trees in the distance, for example, in its simplest terms, and not for all the leaves that are contained therein.
Sometimes we get trapped into a particular style of painting, like detailing, that we think that’s “our style”. Well, that’s not necessarily so. Try working on a small format and see how much fun it can be to change your thinking and work differently than we ever thought before.
Below is the second painting I turned out on a smaller size. It’s 9” x 12” only because the store didn’t have anything smaller. But it is quite a jump down from the 30” x 40” or 18” x 24” sizes. This fascinated me so much that on our recent trip to visit friends in Pennsylvania, I got up at 7am our first day and went outside and set up my easel and chair and began to paint the scene of the valley from their driveway. Soon people were coming by as they did their morning “thing” and stopped to see what this ol’ codger was doing. I guess they were just as shocked at the small size as I was. It looked so funny sitting on the easel like a postage stamp. But it was fun. I worked that painting in acrylics because I wanted it to dry quickly.
However, later on in central Pennsylvania, there’s a great trout fishing creek called “The Little Juniata”. You can google it and see what I mean. Anyway, this is the second of the small images. I was amazed at how my thinking is changed and the approach I took in creating the scene of the fisherman casting for trout.
This one’s in oil. It also teaches you about which brushes to use and how to use them. I used to think that on a large canvas one would use a large brush. And on a small canvas you would use a small brush. Well, try using a larger or medium size brush on a small canvas. Try using a rounded bristle brush about half inch in width. Wow! What a challenge.
Not to change the subject, but some of us just might be interested in finding a solution to our weight problems. You might want to check out this revolutionary program that just launched September 14, 2010 and grabbing a lion's share of the industry already. As for myself, I need to lose that belly fat one gets when they get to be my age. (Must be from sitting all day long and painting). Anyway, take a look and see if this fits for you.
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