Keeping Energy in Large Outdoor Paintings
by Armand Cabrera
Artists rarely challenge themselves to paint large outdoors. Bumping up the energy in the paint application can be the obstacle that keeps artists from creating bigger paintings. Larger paintings lose their energy by becoming overworked and tightly rendered.
To keep the same dynamic brushwork in your larger paintings, scale up your brushes:
- If you use numbers 4, 6, and 8 bristle flats on your small pieces---
- use numbers 14, 16, and 18 bristle flats on the big paintings
In a small picture, the paint surface can be pretty thick with paint. When painting large, put the paint on relative to the size of the canvas.
A canvas 4 times the size of an 8” x 10” needs 4 times the amount of paint.
Juicy brushstrokes made with just the flick of the wrist in an 8” x 10”, require much more effort when painting large.
It requires the use of your whole arm when painting a 24” x 30” canvas.
When painting large pieces outdoors, everything needs to go as smoothly as possible. I recommend painting a smaller version onsite that has the same aspect ratio of the larger piece you are planning to create. If you want to paint a 24” x 30”, paint an 8”x 10” first. This will help to work out compositional challenges ahead of time and will also offer an idea of how the sun will affect the scene over the projected painting session.
Most of my large pieces (18” x 24” or larger) are on stretched linen. To keep the sun from coming through the linen, staple a plastic lawn bag to the back of the stretcher bars.
Using a French Companion palette with my easel allows a large mixing surface. The palettes can be 12” x 16” or larger. They offer plenty of space to squeeze out ample paint.
Painting large requires focus and concentration. Make certain you have enough time to complete your work. Work quickly, but deliberately.
Spend enough time on the drawing process to insure the compositional elements are properly positioned on the canvas.
Organize your time into sections:
- Drawing
- Block-in
- Form
- Edges
It is important to situate yourself back from the painting---no closer than arms length at all times. This will help you create the big brushstrokes needed to keep your painting fresh and spontaneous.
Hold the brush like a tennis racket or sword; do not hold it like a pencil. Holding the brush correctly forces the artist to make paint strokes using the shoulder, rather than “dabbing” at the painting with the wrist.
Large paintings, when successful, command attention in any venue. You’ll surely be rewarded in many ways by your extra effort.
