The Cost of Enlarging my Painting Scale
Art Supplies Shopping List:
- large round brush
- painting board - lightweight, about 24" x 32"
- adjustable standing lamp, with daylight bulbs
- digital SLR camera
One of my goals this year is to paint larger. More full (22" x 30") and half (15" x 22") sheet paintings. Of course, with that objective comes the need for studio supplies to match. Right now my newest painting is taped to the cardboard box my matboard is shipped in, which doesn't fit on my lap at all. This means I also have to adapt my usual painting pose from lap-gazing to more of a forward lean. Neither are really great for my back, which I injured in a car accident last year.
Artists are told to use the biggest brush possible - this is supposed to free us to paint more loosely and not overwork a painting. Until I started painting larger, I seldom used my larger flat brushes, and I never used any round brush larger than #14. So big brushes are on my list - I want my large pieces to be more intuitive than realistic, so my small brushes will now feel my neglect.
The lamp would be an essential whether I changed my painting scale or not - we just don't have the wattage up here for me to paint in the evenings when the kids are in bed. Of course, I could just wait for summer when the sun never really goes down...
And after taking yet another crappy photo of my in-progress painting, I am yearning for the perfect camera more than ever.