I always have goals as part of my painting practice. It’s the start of the new year, and I wanted share what I will be working on over the next few months. I like to think about both the painting and the business side when developing goals. In this post, I’ll focus on the goals for my paintings.
Large Canvas
I will be working on a series of 3x3ft canvas pieces. I did a lot of work on paper last year ranging from large paper (3x4ft) to small paper (9x12in). It’s important to keep working different sizes and substrates. It keeps the paintings fresh and improves your skills. I am excited to get back into canvas as it has a very different feel than paper. The canvas has a slight texture and also a little more give—so it’s not as firm as working on paper. I started a series of canvas pieces towards the end of last year. For the first painting, it took a little bit of time to settle into the space. I painted the piece and when I looked at it a few weeks later, I was like “I LOVE IT!!!” You can see a section of the painting in the photo above.
I have done three canvas pieces so far, and I am really enjoying how this series is developing. It has a different feel than the last set of 3x3ft canvas pieces that I did a few years ago. This set of paintings has more expression and organic shapes. It feels alive and vibrant. I just finished a piece and it’s a bit darker with blues and purples. It has a mysterious quality with the layering of the lines and marks. I am quite pleased with the direction of this series! It’s nice to work a series so you can see the progression of the paintings. It also gives you room to explore once you feel comfortable in the space. I plan to do nine paintings in this series.
Works on Paper
I will be finishing the set of 18x24in works on paper that I started last year. I absolutely love this size and substrate. These paintings have so much joy and energy in them. I love how you can pack so much excitement into a relatively small space! This is the third set of works on paper that I have done of this size. I have fifteen paintings in this series so far, and I plan to finish it up to thirty. I find that the works on paper are a nice balance to the larger canvas pieces. The 18x24in works on paper are definitely my sweet spot!
I still plan to work on my sketchbook on the days when I’m not doing the larger work. The sketchbook is a nice way to maintain my painting practice if I only have limited time or energy. I am about fifteen pages into my new sketchbook, so I will be looking to complete some more pages in the upcoming months. Hopefully I will finish the sketchbook soon as well!
Those are my goals for the next few months. I like have a specific size, substrate and series in mind when I’m painting. It gives you direction for your work as well as a consistent space in which you can then explore. Once I am done with both series of paintings, then I will see where I go next!