Little Paintings

Today I am beginning a series of small 5″ x 7″ paintings.  I am doing this for a few reasons.  First and most importantly I feel great artistic freedom in making these smaller works as simple but provocative color abstracts.  I envision this as being a possible wall at my next solo show coming up this September.  With the Mount Mary Starving Artist show also in September I need some smaller inventory.  Finally, my recent 20+ Paintings Class in Fish Creek has inspired me to return to small for a while.  Working small allows me to figure a lot of things out.  There is a sensitivity and a simplicity to the landscape when broken down to be contained at this size.

These are the first round of prepared panels.  I work on masonite.  I begin by gently sanding the surface.  Then I apply 2-3 coats of gesso.  Finally I apply a base color.  Here I have used red, orange, and yellow.