We so often get caught up in painting in the same formats over and over again: 8x10, 9x12, 12x16 and so on. These are all standard sizes, and they do make the framing a bit easier! But by painting to these dimensions, we get perhaps too comfortable with a certain proportion of length to width. We get boxed in. Sometimes, it's nice to spice up the painting day by trying a different format, one we aren't used to or don't paint in that often.
Yesterday, I pulled out a 12x24 Ampersand Gessobord panel and gave it thin coat of burnt sienna. I was thinking of going out early in the morning today and painting - something. I wasn't quite sure what, but I was hankering to do a painting with more of a panorama. When I got up this morning, I saw we had a stiff wind coming off the bay. I knew the only quiet painting spot would be in the middle of the island. Then I remembered my favorite swamp over on the Glensevern Road. Here it is.
"Southern Head at Dawn"
12x24, oil/panel
