Be There or Be Square

Spring Lines, 2008, Oil on Panel, 9x18

One of my favorite painting formats has always been the square. I have painted many square paintings over the past few years and it was really working for me. There was something about the easy flow, and the circular movement of working within it that really appealed to me.

However, the last time I did a successful square paintings was last November or so, when I did a series of 9 inch square paintings for the show at The Harrison Gallery. Each square painting I have attempted since then has ended in frustration and I now have a whole pile of square panels in my sand down pile. Not only small and cute 9 inch squares either, there are big ones; 3 feet and even 4 feet square. Very annoying.

But I am a fickle girl and I have totally been feeling the love for long and narrow rectangles lately, though. 9x18 has been a favorite, as well as 6x12. And when I last ordered panels, I requested four 20x40 panels. Can't wait to get those primed and ready to go!

All of this is making a difference in my imagery. Instead of the circular movements of the square, I am thinking in blocks, short horizontal bits of imagery if I am working in a vertical rectangular format. The horizontal format gives me the opportunity to paint long, languid, flowing compositions which are particularly challenging for me. Mostly I prefer working with the vertical, but I am always pleased with what happens in the horizontal too. Hardly any of those have gone to the sand down pile!

I hope the square thing will come back to me though; last year I was on a square panel buying binge and I have at least 857 of them in my panel inventory. Well, maybe not quite that many, but close.

Really Small Scale

Cool Waters, 2007, Oil on Panel, 3x5

The Lake, 2007, Oil on Panel, 4x6

When I began painting again a few years ago, I worked on very small panels. 3x3, 3x5, 5x7, maybe 6x8, but 8x10 was really pushing it. I did this for several reasons. I was experimenting and I didn't want to blow through all of my supplies too quickly. We were taking a real leap of faith by my attempt to paint and make some kind of career out of it and I felt I had to be very careful with the financial investment that was necessary. Mostly, though I was extremely intimidated by working on a larger scale. I was afraid to really let loose on a big panel and frankly I haven't completely gotten over that, although I have made much progress. And I think that even though I simplify my imagery, there is also a bit of a "noodler" in me and working at a small scale really lets me noodle a bit. I am too impatient to noodle extensively!

Now I am gradually working my way up in scale and 8x10 is the smallest size I do at this point. And wouldn't you know it, once I decided to not work small anymore and to not inventory panels smaller than 8x10, I was asked to participate in a miniatures group show at the local arts association. They asked for at least six paintings of the local lake, officially named Otsego Lake, but called Glimmerglass by most who live here. I don't paint the water too often, but I felt this was a good chance to do a few lake images, which are pretty popular around here. I didn't have any small panels on hand, but I was at Soho Artists Materials in the city in March and noticed that they had a whole table of tiny little cradled wood panels which I can only describe as really cute. Not one of my usual adjectives, but there you are. I bought some 3x5's and some 4x6's, but they had a whole range of, well, really cute sizes. I plan to go back and buy some more next time I am in the city. I really enjoyed working so small again, and while I was a bit flustered on the day that I painted a 3x5 AND a 36x48, I was exhilarated by it as well.

Pink Lake is one of the series, as well as the ones that I have posted today. I admit to being quite intrigued with the shape of the hills around the lake as well as the particular palette I used that week, which accounts for the similarities in each piece. I wish now that I had varied them a bit, but I can do another series again.

Doug and I will be going to the opening for the show tonight, which will be a nice social event, with many people we know in attendance.