Bigger and brighter

This weekend I attended the opening reception for Spring Fling, an annual juried exhibit at the Gateway Arts Council in Sidney, Ohio.  This year I was privileged to have two pastels accepted into the show.  It's an excellent exhibit with many talented artists participating, making the quality of the pieces displayed quite high.

I learned a few lessons as I walked around the exhibit.  The first, which I really already knew, was that while my work has gotten much better over the last few years, I still have some catching up to do.  The second was that I need to paint bigger and brighter, especially for these types of exhibits.  Larger pieces often do a better job of commanding attention, in particular when they surrounded by many other pieces.  A little 9x12, while quite lovely in a living room or bedroom, is overwhelmed in such a space.  In addition, all the dark shadows which were supposed to be dramatic turned out to be more melodramatic in a setting with lighting that is more subdued than in my studio.

Taking all of this into consideration, I have resolved to paint bigger and brighter, at least for exhibits.  Even for other pieces I will try to make the mood brighter - occasionally walking the pieces out of the studio and setting them in a room with more typical lighting (my dining room, for example) will help with this I think.  Something like the painting below is step in the right direction I think.

Chance of Scattered Showers 16x20 oil, copyright 2013