I wanted to update you on my project of working large. I posted last month about this and showed you the small changes I made in my studio to accommodate working large. Well, the studio update was not enough. No surprise. To make large work I actually have to: Make. Large. Work. And this is uncomfortable for me. My usual methods don't scale up particularly well with my usual tools and techniques. So here is what I did: I gave myself the assignment of working on 18"x24" cheap drawing paper with a limited palette of relatively inexpensive paint and a large (well, larger) brush.
Here are the pieces I did in the video:
This third one I painted over quite a bit after the video, as I felt I'd overworked it and it needed a bit of simplification. Here are a couple I did before and after the video, using the same techniques.
I think the next step is to work on real paper or on canvas at this size. Or maybe do a whole bunch more playing on cheap drawing paper. It is like working in a sketchbook, but just a lot bigger. Fun!!! I would like to hear about what challenges you face in your art making, and if you have found solutions or made inroads. Thanks for visiting!
Amazing, Jane! thank you for sharing that video -- I always feel so stuck trying to make an abstract - you have given me some ideas!
ReplyDeleteVery exciting! Thanks for sharing you process--and brave "what-ifs"
ReplyDeleteWhoo-Hoo!! Paint Waster!? haha! This is great & daring of you to share. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAs you know, I have been trying to work small since beginning your classes & it's a bitch. I find myself making more & more pieces. Working on things in an assembly line style...putting on backgrounds, cutting out shapes...etc... It's made me more organized but also more tentative. It's good to move out of our comfort zones...maybe we'll find new ones?!
Have you tried using plastic paint spatulas from the hardware store? Like a big squeegee?
Hey, thanks! Nancy: glad this gave you some ideas. Let me know how you do with abstract experiments!
ReplyDeleteCarissa: I do mean to get one of those squeegies. Thanks for the reminder. Nice to know that others struggle with the size issue. Not just guys.
This was so much fun to watch...made me want to run to my studio and play! After your additional work on the third made it my fav.
ReplyDeleteWonderful to see you play... I have to try this sometimes. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing your process - thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this video. Working large is something I'm working on to. Do you know the book "expressive drawing" by Steven Aimone? A wonderful book! Here's a link to a great video about working large:
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I hope this link works. If not you could go to aarp.org and search for Expressive Drawing.
best, Annie
Inspiring post - that you are still pushing to grow and learn, and putting yourself in the role of "beginner" at something, with the hesitation and anxieties that come with it. Thank you for telling us about it. I love the work, it is still very much your style and sensibility.
ReplyDeleteMost unlike your usual work Jane... but I really love watching the process.
ReplyDeleteMost unlike your usual work Jane... but I love it... and watching the process.
ReplyDeleteI'm late, but you are my New Year's resolution!
ReplyDeleteWorking large is challenging. I have been working in triptych form. Large, but manageable as individual smaller panels. Interesting post.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. I love coming here to see what you are doing.
ReplyDeleteSo much fun to see you having fun! Thanks so much for sharing and reminding us once again, it's okay to try new things and just see what happens. Always like your work!
ReplyDeleteGreat video! Really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteLove your blog, you are so brave. Thank you for sharing your experience with a larger canvass. I so want to expand from 1 medium to collage. I will be following you to get started!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much to all of you for your encouragement. I started working on 22"x30" printmaking paper yesterday, and will post about it soon.
ReplyDeleteI quickly read this blog last week, but I just saw the finished products in the flickr gallery and came back to watch the video. Boy have I had a great time in your studio! Thanks for inviting us in. Just watching you work is liberating - I looked at the paintings in the gallery and wondered how you come to a point where you have such mastery over brushstrokes. And then I saw how you did it. I laughed, I giggled, I felt like grabbing a brush. It's great instruction and priceless therapy! You can send me an invoice - I'll pay it. And, since I now know that you are both right handed and left handed, I'm starting to understand how it is that you can do everything so well - your right and left brains are pals! Thanks Jane
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed watching. Probably my biggest challenge is thinking abstract. Even when I try, I see things the way one does with clouds.
ReplyDelete~Faith
Airy Nothing
It is amazing to me how just playing with colors and strokes and lines can make such unique and interesting works. I learned from you today. Thanks Jane!
ReplyDeleteAnd I have to tell you I busted out laughing when you took the left over paint on your palette and went SPLAT! That was exactly what I thought you would do in the two seconds of contemplating what to do with it. Totally what I would have done too. Now I would love to sit at a table and paint with you.
Great video, very fun and inspiring. I hope to take your sketchbook online workshop the next time you offer it on the schedule. Keep up the awesome work! :) Melissa in WA
ReplyDeleteSo much joy watching you work, Jane. I love the lift with paper technique to get surprising effects. And it's inspiring to see you move with ease in this process. Thank You for sharing all this.
ReplyDeletemmm.. Large? try 48"x60" That will make you sweat!
ReplyDeleteThe art you hang in galleries is beautiful. When you are not practicing and painting on drawing paper, what is your choice for large paintings? I know you glue some paper to wood panels but what is your "best" surface for these large paintings?
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