When I first began painting, I naturally reached for large canvases. Some people might not consider 30x40 large, there are definitely larger canvases, but I'm talking as opposed to 5x7 or 8x10.
I have challenged myself to paint smaller. I painted a few 8x10's of cute cottages, and some 5x5 canvases of puppies to see what that would be like, but they weren't meaningful. And especially there was not room for the small details I enjoy including in a painting.
I could paint a doorknob of a home on an 8x10, but I really missed the people in the paintings.
It was true for me that you learn what you enjoy by trying so many things. Image of people in oil on canvas, as opposed to paper is where I return over and over. I also return to the same paint pigment colors, burnt sienna, indian red, french ultramarine blue and yellow ochre. I bring other colors in, but I generally start with my basic familiar, old faithfuls.
The Boy Meets Girl series came from images Steve collected and sent me. He is my in-house collaborator. He presents his photos and I am inspired.
Boy Meets Girl paintings are 16 × 16 inches, with a few 16 × 20s and one 20 × 20.
Painting people large enough allow more attention for some detail.
A child's tiny fingers grasping a toy or a rock.
Two hands just touching.
The details become part of the story.
I've thought about painting a single child's hand on a small canvas.
I love children's hands.
But somehow it feels disconnected.
Larger canvases give the story room to breathe.