Of course the image above is just for fun, because we are clearly not talking about that kind of scale.
In a recent discussion with a friend, my acquaintance mentioned one of my works and described it as large. The dimensions of the piece in question is 30" X 22". This is by no means small, but compared to my other works it is significantly smaller. I didn't say anything, but in the back of my mind I was thinking "Hmm...that's actually a smaller image." This got me thinking about my works, the sizes they are, and why I generally paint in large scales.
To answer these questions I think it's important to understand the way I work. For the most part I paint in watercolor. I like the freedom and ease of the medium, but I also like the nature of using water to paint. I like the drippy, sloppy, runny quality of the brush and paint. Frequently I will intentionally hang my paper on the wall as I work in order to get the drips of water to flow more fluidly. This effect is enhanced in larger scales. I have done this with smaller works, but often the paint just blends together. With a smaller scale the resulting image still contains the free flow of water, but lacks individual droplets.
This explains a little of why I like to paint on large surfaces. I think there are other factors, but I don't want this post to be overly long. I will therefore stop with what I have said. What do you think? What scales do you work in? What are the scales of some of your favorite works of art? Do you think they would still be effective if they were created smaller or larger?
