This was drawn on Mylar with ink...
Tonight Jan had us stand at easels (like real artists) and paint flowers in drippy wet ink on big sheets of paper. It was uncomfortable and so unnatural. As she passed each flower to me I found myself drawing smaller and smaller portions with tighter and tighter brush strokes - like a falcon circling in on prey. Any appearance of looseness was due to the limitations of the brush. I only became happy again when I taped up the small sheets of mylar on the big white sheet and used them as my target; small pictures filling all the space on a small canvas.
I'm sure there is a psychology to each artist's selection of space. The tension and anxiety of space unfilled; the comfort of nestling up to the edges. I like borders and plans, lists and lines. I also like the fun of transgression, an act which requires a boundary. Unsurprisingly I like tiny, bordered, dense needlework patterns, small engravings, illuminated letters, centres and borders, 5x5 square frames...
2 comments:
You know Lesley; preferring to work small doesn't necessarily have to be thought of negatively. I know you do some gorgeous ATC's and your 'tile' designs are wonderful!
Sounds to me like you would be a natural for doing Miniature Paintings, some of them are bigger than ATC's and some are as small as 1" X 1 1/2". I've seen beautiful examples and marvel at the dexterity of the artist. Just a thought...
I know Bonny, I wasn't thinking of it negatively at all - just commenting on the preferences we all have and our comfort zones, how they spill over into all aspects of our life. Thanks for your comment.
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