Tuesday, April 29, 2008

The joy of small paintings

I love creating large canvasses, for the
sweep of colour, the amount of paint I
can apply, the complicated subject matter I can portray, and the dramatic impact large paintings can have. Every now and then though it's a pleasure to create small paintings.

This painting was loosely drawn with a
brown Sharpie over a turquoise acrylic
ground. Using a reference I put down
the main concept and then created the feeling of California.

The lemon tree, window boxes and colour
scheme all reminded me of a perfect sunny day in the mountains.

In fact the actual painting is about 5"
square, so I tried to stay very simple.

I've just been at art class, and it's time
for bed.

Have a small and perfect evening.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Barbara, that is one beautiful painting! I'm headed for california tomorrow, so I can't wait to see what the colours look like. I'll see you when we come back in 2 weeks!!
xoxo

Barbara Muir said...

Floraaaaaa! I'm in Ottawa from
May 14 - 17. Please don't go
home until I see you.

Barbara

flo said...

winnioBarbara. love this small painting! the peachy orange. interesting moving from large to small and back. the large canvasses sometimes seem daunting with the amount of area you have to cover with the paint. moved to a few 20"x20" for our show. at first I thought they were too confined but eventually loved the square. would like to do more.
It is getting greener...
N

flo said...

Ignore the winnio part

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Norene,
I've been thinking about you
all day. I had a mad plan
to cash in my air miles and
fly down for the opening day,
but I have an opening myself
tomorrow, so the plan seemed
a bit too mad. Too bad.
Have a great show.

Barbara

flo said...

thanks, back at you.

Portrait Artist

My photo
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I paint and draw on commission and for shows. To commission a portrait, or purchase one of my paintings please contact me at: barbara.muir@sympatico.ca
A major highlight in my career? Drawing Oprah Winfrey live via Skype for her show "Where in the Skype are you? Galleries: Studio Vogue Gallery, Toronto, Canada. The Amsterdam Whitney Gallery, New York City. Gallery at the Porch Door, Kingston, Canada. Your positive comments on this blog mean the world to me. I'd love to hear from you!