Little Paintings and Big Brushes!

If the devil's in the detail why not leave him there?

6 X 8' and 6 X 6" Oil on archival, museum grade GESSOBORD PANELS

Lately I've been focusing less on the little things (details in this case) and more on the big picture with these little paintings and some pretty big brushes. I've been concentrating on the composition and the light and shadow mostly. The subject might be a person or a flower but in some cases it might be just a swatch of color sweeping through to steal the show.

These things have to be handled just right and I love the practice I get with these little paintings. Being able to manage the light and edges deftly is ugh... especially while you're outdoors managing the heat and humidity and other elements (your canvas blowing face down in the sand) is well, difficult. I figure if I like any of them I can make a larger version in the studio later with even bigger brushes!!

I try to get at one of these little paintings most days. They're a lot of fun and such good practice for so many reasons. I can't recommend them highly enough. I've been doing them for years. They're much more difficult than people realize. I have a lot of friends that joke that they'd charge more money for these smaller paintings because they're harder. In some ways it's true I suppose but I really have such a love for them.

As I finish these I post full process videos on social media so if you want to follow along there are links at the top of the page and they are for sale here.