Confronting a canvas that is larger than yourself can be quite liberating and daunting. The sheer expanse of canvas and the massive block of color mass seem to have a gravity of their own (at least in person- - reproductions leave one ignorant of that experience).
The first one came out rather fast. I made a number of sketches and eventually settled on one, guessing what i wanted the color to do. And it felt great! Loose gestures and tight, quiet, refined passages all seemed to work together. The scale changed within the painting despite being roughly the same size as what i might normally put into a smaller painting.
The next one was a bit more finicky. Again i chose a few parts from sketches and created another drawing to familiarize myself with the composition, hoping for a repeat experience of the previous painting. One thing about working large is it is difficult to imagine how an expanse of paint will read in person. When looking at smaller painting, or a reproduction, the forms become more condensed. Eventually i managed to get the colors right- switching a few of the relationships around. Still- it was quite a fast, fresh painting.
The next piece has been another story. I suppose it picks up where i left off with a grouping of 3x2 paintings- where the form, colors, and content demanded drastic changes and minute refinements. A few months fly by as it seems to near completion but then demands something extreme. A confrontation of sorts. Perhaps it reflects an attempt to break the slight case of summer malaise that has crept in.
but more about that later...
