Dare to Go Big

       " Have I not said, that a woman should never, under any pretext, forget her womanhood; that to be a woman is her first condition in life?  But when she desires to paint large sized pictures and mounts a ladder, she is lost- lost as a woman" 
- Elizabeth Cave, 1877

I loved finding this quote and I love sharing it.  Our foremothers couldn't express themselves as they chose, so aren't we obligated to ascend that damn ladder if we want to? 

Dare to express yourself in a big way!

For me, painting large is really fun. 

The tricky part of a painting is the composition, whether the painting in small or large, so why not go big?

Here's how I work. I like to paint fast. Using filbert brushes, standing and using the full swing of my arm.  My brushes and water at my feet, paint on a small moveable table.

I like to just get some paint on in the first session, that way the painting is underway and the icy white of the canvas is no more. I add some well-placed darks and lights and a color palette that is calling to me that day. This lays out some of the puzzle pieces that my intuition will work out on another day.

Session two is a wild affair with the colors flying.

Usually, my paintings are too busy at this point and I need to simplify them in the third session.  And if I’m really, really (really)  lucky... I will feel that the piece is finished at this point, but usually there are several more attempts .  

Towards the end, I feel the  need to be bold, take a risk, go somewhere new  - even if it means destroying the work. This balancing act is where the painting  comes to life.