Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Supersizing

Untitled
12 x 12, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2022


One of my favorite books about painting is an old classic, Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting by John Carlson.  Some of the material is copyrighted as early as 1929--almost 100 years ago!  But the advice is timeless.  


Untitled
30 x 30, Oil on Canvas
(c) Lesley Powell 2022



Carlson's students painted mostly small to mid-sized paintings.  But he urged them to occasionally take on a large canvas. He said that facing a large expanse of clean canvas gives the painter a sense of power.  However, he cautions that one MUST organize and draw and paint well when working in a large format.  In his words, "A large pictures shows up ANY lack whatsoever.  What was (in a small sketch) a tree, made with one touch of green paint, becomes on a large canvas a formidable mass that requires construction."  Therein lies the struggle!


"Lavender Fields"
30 x 30, Oil on Canvas
(c) Lesley Powell 2022

I have recently painted several 12 x 12 inch canvases.  I love that size, and feel very comfortable with it.  So I decided to take some of the ideas expressed in that format and go bigger.  Hence the title of this post, "Supersized".  As a result of my work, I can definitely vouch for this statement by Carlson: "Any fault of composition shoots out with cruel obviousness from a large canvas."  A slight inaccuracy might be acceptable in a small work, but it is glaringly (or in Carlson's words, "cruelly") obvious in a large format.  Care is the watchword.


Untitled
30  x 30, Oil on Canvas
(c) Lesley Powell 2022

I'm illustrating this post with some of my recent efforts in the large scale format.  The top two images are a great illustration of what happens to me taking a small image to a large format.  The top image is the 12 x 12 canvas.  The second is the 30 x 30 rendition of the same subject.  Vive la difference!


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