Daily Paintings are Back Again
“Ascend” – Acrylic on paper, 5 x 7″
Small Works
This summer is turning out to be a great time for small daily paintings and collages. I really have very little incentive to paint on a large scale right now. Large paintings are great for public and corporate spaces, but that business is not what I am focusing on at the moment. Small works are more accessible, more affordable, and very gratifying to create. And, I have to add, they don’t take up as much space. Some might say that this makes me less than a serious artist, but I don’t see it that way at all. I am an experienced artist who keeps an open attitude toward the real world market.
My own art collection is made up of works under 24 inches in size. If I am tempted to buy additional works, they are almost sure to be small pieces, because I can fit them into my existing collection.
A few years ago an acquaintance (and a collector of my work) longed for my largest painting. He was in love with it. He thought about it and agonized over it for several months. Money was not an issue. He finally concluded that he just didn’t have a wall large enough for it. He already had a sizeable art collection, and that was a factor too. Just not enough space. I learned a valuable lesson from that experience.
Daily Outings
Now that my husband wants me to go out with him on photo shoots almost on a daily basis, I am thinking of taking some paints out with me. But right now it’s too hot to stay out for long. So that might be something for cooler weather.
The other paintings for the gallery are still waiting for more layers of gel. Yesterday we spent most of the day out taking pictures and the rest of the day cooling off. I promise to show those when they are finished.
An Artist's Journal 
I so much agree with you about small canvases, People cannot really have large canvases in there house allright for a gallery or as you say a corporate space.
They are more easy to post and people even carry them away in bags( when bough of course.
Small Is the next Big!
Chris, I agree with you — small is the next big! (I loved the presentation of yours in your recent show.)
I’m totally with you regarding working small scale.
I find it so much easier all the way around. Affordability, space/storage, shipping to buyers and galleries. I’m also an Instant Gratification type guy and feel much more “charged” when working on pieces that don’t seem to take forever.
Now and then I feel the urge to work large (I currently have a piece about 1/4 of the way done). But small (16×20 and under) is very gratifying for me.
Yep, me too, John. I am beginning to embrace my ADD!! LOL!
This painting really talks to me. — When I was about 30, I applied for a fine arts scholarship, but failed. A friend said, “it was right to try, but I could have told you.” I said, why? and he replied: “It was too small.” It was about 1 square meter, that’s 1.2×1.2 yd.
Oh yes. In order to prove oneself as a serious artist, one must do large work. Or at least that’s the way things used to be. I’m not too sure now.
There was a running joke around the halls of art school many years ago. “If you can’t paint good, paint big!”
LMAO @ “If you can’t paint good, paint big!”
Just about ANYTHING on a large scale looks “important” and impressive.
John, you’re right. Isn’t it interesting how that works? But I do think tastes in general are changing.
I think it takes more skill to paint beautiful small works. I prefer small, funnily enough a lot of the others in my class want to paint very large works, and they don’t always work out.
Sandra, I think so too. And many times the small intimate format is just what is required for an image or style.
Hi Martha,
Hmmmmmm, this was an interesting post. So much said about big vs. small. As an amateur, I tend to want to paint ‘medium’ – which I call a panel or canvas, around 18×18.
Being a person of little patience but a lot of passion, I tend to want to dive into a big sea of white and watch it develop into juicey combos of colour and texture. I also prefer a painter’s knife than a brush. I guess that’s how my ADD manifests.
Martha, I keep trying to see the ‘Sugar Free’ exhibit all placed ‘side by each’ on a display. I have checked the Michael Murphy Gallery – but not getting any satisfaction. Did you take a pic of them hung together before they all left?
Sherrill, unforunately, the gallery’s website is not updated often. I tried to take a picture of them on the wall, but the day we went to the gallery to take pictures, they were repainting all the walls and the paintings were not hung. I need to get back down there soon.