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| "Monet's Bench" by Gary Lee Price (I call it "Claude in Chains") I don't know if Monet sat; this may just be the sculptor's interpretation. |
A reader asks: "Could you discuss the merits of standing versus sitting? I carry a three-legged stool. I notice from your photos that you and others stand at your easels."
Most painters I know stand while painting. The idea is two-fold. First, you can put your whole body into each brush stroke; second, you can more easily take several steps back to view your work in progress. When we sit, we tend to make smaller and smaller strokes as we hunch over our work, and we lose perspective of what the "big picture" looks like. This can lead to fussiness in the work. (It can also lead to fussiness in the artist when the muscles start to cramp.)
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| I usually stand. Photo by John H. Burrow. |
If you're doing smaller work, sitting is certainly an option. You may not have to back off from your work as much, and you may be using smaller strokes that don't require anything more than some deft wrist action.
I have to confess, I sit about half the time. If I am painting all day, I usually stand for the first half of the day and then may opt to sit the second half - it's easier on the back. I recommend that you do whatever is comfortable so long as you are still doing your best work. Question: What do you do?
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| "Artists Sketching in the White Mountains" by Winslow Homer Homer painted these three artists sitting. |
