I've talked about my process before; how I select an image, a surface, sketch it out, do the underpainting and refine the piece until finished, But sometimes there is another step, either between pieces or, sometimes, right smack in the middle of a work in progress. Its the 5"x7" interruption. And it happens a lot. And since it just happened again today I thought I would address it here.
I'm currently working on a painting. An 11"x14" painting. Its going well but slowly. Sometimes they take their time coming together. I actually started this piece the last time it snowed. Its green and summery, and I picked it because I wasn't going out in the snow to get my reference photos from the store so I worked with what I had already here. After the roads cleared I picked up my photos and saw lots of potential for the next pieces coming up. But my current piece is still going steady, but slow. And these other paintings I want to paint are nagging me to get started...
I'm always very particular about the size of my pieces. I have certain sizes that are overwhelmingly more common than others: the 9x12, the 11x14, the 16x20.....and the 5x7.
The 5x7. Its small. Its compact. It limits what you can do.
But it also allows me to be more spontaneous. They allow me to be more playful because I know I can't paint too heavy or too long without it becoming a mess. It can revitalize me or refresh me. Because it is so small, it tends to leave me wanting more.
And best of all, I can delve into a 5x7 and it won't pull me out of the mindset that my larger painting has me in. Its a sketch. A willing and brief interruption.
And today, stuck inside with the snow coming down outside, I wanted to paint. But my current painting wasn't quite telling me what to do. And I do love the resting period of paintings, that time where you sit back and just look, but I also just really wanted to paint. And I knew just what to do. I would just paint a little 5x7 landscape, a tiny little snowscape. So I pulled out a small wood panel and a reference photo from the last big storm and I painted. And it didn't take very long, and I found my focus, and I painted my little snowscape. And I'm happy, I'm content.
But I also keep staring at the other painting, that 11x14 sitting up on the easel. And I think I'll probably work a little more on that tonight, but, if not, its ok. Because the 5x7 really refreshed me. I love these tiny little paintings. They keep me working. Whether it just be a way to step away and return with clearer focus, or after a piece is finished to cleanse my mind with something small until I find that larger more immersive composition. And so I keep my panels stocked and I make sure I always have a variety of sizes ready and on hand, and I always have the small ones sitting on standby.....because you just never know. Whether its a hard time picking the next piece, or a piece that isn't quite ready to pull itself together just yet, sometimes you just need to work on something small that comes with no strings and no pressure and very little commitment....for me, that's my little 5x7's.
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