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Friday, January 24, 2020

Starting Out Small, The Big Surprise

In the 52 years I've been painting I've gone back to this sort of work (knife painting) again and again in sizes up to five feet across.














Today I turned the process upside down on a canvas panel that was only four by six inches (10.16 x 15.24 cm) and my smallest palate knives.

 
The real surprise in the process was that doing the small one was every bit as fun as working really large. it's just all about the colors and textures.


Knife painting can be soothing, in spite of the name of it.

I looked at this painting a while and then got kind of a fun idea. I used to paint vases and flowers using these as backgrounds so I thought it would be fun to give it a try in this size too.


Here you see it with one of the inspiration paintings. It was a real challenge to paint the vase so tiny this time.

Because of the colors used in the background this time I decided to use daisies and was able to refer to my garden photos on the inspiration page of my scrapbook to help me get the various shapes right. I painted these with a size # 1 liner brush. By the time I added the paint to the centers of the flowers I had to use a toothpick!


I was very happy with the results. Imagine having a "real" painting tiny enough to pop in your pocket or purse. Perfect for people that are on the move a lot. Everyone needs art in their lives, no matter where or how they live. This just did my heart good and I think it will do the same for others as well.



I had done something similar to this with daisies 15 or 20 years ago. It's nice to know that I could have this one with me always, even if I end up in a nursing home.

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