Creating a Series of Paintings

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” – Aristotle

I love this quote. Especially with respect to the process of working on a series of paintings together versus the process of working individual paintings. I am focusing this summer to work on series of paintings and I am pleasantly surprised by so many benefits to working on multiple paintings at once. Most of all the momentum of energy I get curating the pieces together and how quickly the ideas for the next piece come to fruition.

Before working on Series

In the past, I worked on paintings individually. When a painting is done I post it on my website or send it to group shows and move on to the next piece. Fortunately, the painting often found a home (via a sale) giving me resources to create new pieces. I think this is the way all artists start – it is energizing each time a sale is made. However, it is challenging because I do not have the painting with me to refer back to for the next piece to build on the style. When a successful painting has sold, it often becomes built up in my head of what it was, only putting pressure on the next painting as I have high expectations to meet the same level of quality.

The Opportunities of working in Series

There are so many valuable things I’ve learned working on 3 series this summer:

1. Reference:  Being able to refer back to the other pieces for reference
2. Ideation:  Have new ideas faster immediately knowing what will go with the set, rather than creating pieces that must stand on their own
3. More Energy:  Feeling energized seeing the work together
4. Chance to Tweak:  As the process develops with each painting, it is possible to go back to the previous piece to tweak it and review
5. Reject what Isn’t Working:  Discard the paintings that do not work out, each painting feels less precious so it is easier to focus on the stronger pieces and not dwell on the mistakes
6. Experimentation:  Willingness to experiment, because the paintings feel less precious when they have a family of work – an opportunity to see where the art goes. The first piece is potentially not the best piece in the set
7. Resources:  Saving on supplies, it is easier to invest in tools at paint a series and I don’t have to discard my palette with each painting

 

I find the toughest part is knowing when the series is ready to show as I get so excited seeing the work together and constantly adding. However  if I start working on something new and don’t find myself going back to the previous set it is probably time to release that series. Limited storage space is a good reminder to release a set of paintings.

#VeryVancouver Series

One of the series I have been working on is of Vancouver city-scapes on panel. These small panels allowed me to experiment on hard surface and work quickly. Sunday I am releasing a set of original paintings of Vancouver on my Etsy site. All panels are of city-scape scenes around downtown Vancouver. Normally I paint on paper, so it was so much fun experimenting with the brush sliding effortlessly on a gesso’d Masonite panel.

Here are a few images of the #VeryVancouver paintings. I’d love your feedback on this set in the comment section.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a bonus… please check out my Instagram feed today/tomorrow as I am running a contest to win one of these pieces.

Have a great weekend,