The issue of large scale.

So I've finally taken the plunge and did my first large scale painting, 36"x24". That is pretty large for a guy like me used to do little 8"x10" plain air pieces. I am not entirely happy with it and I am anxious to try it again. But a lot of unexpected challenges came simply from the painting's size. This are some lessons I hope I learnt:

1) A previous study can save a lot of time and pain. In fact, it helps if the study is not just a try-out but a real blueprint in scale, color and mood. I did a study but then changes the ratio in the painting with the result that I had to address perspective issues very soon. The dog, for example, had to be repainted closer to the girl in order to avoid making it look like a chihuahua.

This was the study.

2) Drawing and perspective problems will be more acute by the fact that we need to encompass more surface. Pull back often and follow your study with care. I now have a deeper appreciation of the careful underpainting old masters used to build a canvas.

3) Using larger brushes and more paint is not just an obvious choice for larger scale paintings. If we desire to maintain a certain "freshness" of stroke , we should treat the surface with the precision and textural interest of a smaller piece, not hiding mediocre brushwork in the large area or getting lost in parcels of messy work.

4) In small alla prima paintings, color harmony is almost guaranteed since the palette we use to start is the same as the one we finish with. Not so with a large painting, it behooves me to "plan" the palette carefully.

5) A schedule of work is very useful to hammer out a larger piece. Since it is painted in stages, it is essential to maintain a rhythm.

So this is my final piece. I see so much room for improvement I am almost giddy with impatience to put this lessons to work in my next painting.

Ending the year in Sorolla's Museum

While vacationing in Spain, I had the opportunity to visit the new and improved Sorolla Museum. I frequented this museum before but the remodeled version is magnificent. What a treat to end 2008 with a visit to this museum, the house where Sorolla lived and created some of his masterpieces.

I include here some pictures of the entrance to the museum and the studio. In the enormous room that served as Sorolla's studio I enjoyed the detail of Velazquez's print of Inocencio X in the wall, a print of the painting that inspired the model to exclaim in annoyance:"troppo vero!" . I am sure the artist was greatly inspired by it despite the lack of color. The museum displays also the work-bench and palette Sorolla used and the many objects he collected, including the beautiful ceramic jars he used to place his brushes, many ceramics and sculptures of friends like Mariano Benlliure.

Noteworthy was the dining room which he adorned with his own wall paintings much in the manner Goya did albeit with much happier themes of garlands and his wife Clotilde and daughters peeking through the leaves. The garden , which he painted many times is samll but gorgeous and draws a lot of inspiration from Sorolla's native Valencia.