Painting large is tricky

If it's so tricky then why do it? I'm not totally sure other than when it's big like this 77x66 you're in it....at least until you step back because while your painting it covers your full vision area. I can tell you as a painter there's a sense of freedom as if there are no boundaries, but of course we humans do eventually establish boundary lines. However, until then I have some choices. The first one that comes to the forefront is a more abstract approach over my normal wet-in-wet transitional style. Nothing I would think about on a small canvas, although I have done small transitional paintings bordering on abstraction called scrap paintings; so named because I would take my palette scrapings and randomly apply it to a canvas panel with a palette knife. After a few days or once the surface was totally covered, I would study it....you know, looking for possibilities - one always crops-up; so off I'd go......messing with it for an extra few minutes.

Staring at my "big one" I pulled these out of storage. 

SOME SCRAP PAINTINGS

 #367 Looks like a wave - added a sunrise 11x14

 #392 Looks like a Vermillion Koi so I added some lilies 11x14

 #369 Looks like a landscape - added a sunrise and some tree branches 11x14

It was fun and useful. There was no wasted paint and used up some old cotton panels. I liked all of them too.  

Now every once in awhile I make an unlikely move like the painting below......as you can see, full of energy and oddly related  to my scrap paintings completed at a later date. Perhaps all  preludes in future things to come...

#335 Venetian Equestrian 20x24 Oil on linen panel 

DAY 1 

My 2-hour wash blockout establishing my composition. I liked where it were it was going - lots of possibilities....

DAY 2

I always start at the top laying in solid background colour - basically avoiding the lily pads and fish. So today, like yesterday, I only had a few hours - again late in the day so I wasn't able to finish.....not a good way to work. I paid a price too, guess what? I forgot my mission...and followed my normal routine - too late to backtrack......you gotta love senior moments..LOL

 

DAY 3

I had a full day and was able to complete my first solid paint layer including starting my Koi.  I like to go as far with each Koi as possible - this includes painting the areas around each. Sometimes you only get one chance to make this part work - if I'm not careful everything after reduces the spontaneity so I go back in, prepared to cover good work.

 

Detail of the pair of yellow and black Koi
 
DAY 4

Generally I start adding detail into my background before moving into more detailed work such as the Koi. You might call it a safe warmup to the more serious stuff to come

DAY 5 

 

DETAILS 

Today I also got into the lower half completing this Koi lurking in the lily pads

DAY 6

I wasn't happy with the overall colour - much too saturated and leaning heavily to green and blue - so I started adding warm rose tones to my top lily pads - it helped, so I pretty much continued on for the remainder of the day getting the top half to a finished state.

DAY 7  

As you can see, the painting is very much together. I dressed up the top white and red Koi - added more refinements; then spending the remainder of my day on the lower half. 

I actually thought it might be time to sign off but soon, after some study, the lower left section of blue water wasn't working....incomplete thoughts...bummer 

 DAY 8 - A REPAINT & FINISHED 

I got up knowing I had to go back in and repaint a fairly large section of blue water around middle black Koi - I didn't have a clear idea yesterday and ended up diddling around with it. However after sleeping on it, it did give me a road map. So with a fresh mind I got to it!

REPAINTED AREA

 

 Before (Interior LED)

 
 After (outdoor)

 FINISHED PAINTING

#749 Black and Yellow Koi oil on linen 72x66 (11-13-12)
(Painting shot outdoors in natural daylight)
  
  DETAILS

My paint was reasonably dry so with the help of my medium Neo-Megilp by Gamblin I was able to add paint and maintain my natural flow seamlessly into my unaffected areas...as you can see it worked:=)

 

 

 

 

All in all not a bad outcome for an 8 day painting......perhaps next time a bit more abstract 

Later