It seems not so long ago that I was touting the benefits of painting in a larger format. It may seem odd, then, that today I offer these two small paintings.
When I teach half-day workshops, as I am doing now, I find it difficult to paint a full-scale demonstration and still leave time for students to paint. So, I often scale down my demonstration to match the time available. To get a successful painting with this restriction, I also scale down my "frame." I like to zoom in so that my center of interest fills the frame, and then I zoom out just a bit to include a few other elements for a successful design. I try to use the fewest elements I can.
Bouguereau and Waterhouse in Paris
3 hours ago