Nicholas Wilton’s studio about a week away from a solo show.
So how do you make your work hold up when it gets super big? I mean really big, like 8-10 ft. big. At that scale – or actually any time your work gets bigger than yourself – it can either fall down or be stupendous. Scale makes everything better or worse. I am asked frequently how to scale up work effectively by my students. I have written about this before, but since then, I think I have had some more clarification that has come from my own struggles with this issue.
Here are three points I keep in mind when I am making my art big.
#1 MAKE THE CLOSE UP VIEW AS STRONG AS THE DISTANT VIEW
When making art that is bigger than yourself, it is important that the art looks exciting, not just from close up, but also from across the room. Sometimes when our art is large, we stand right up close and get lost in all its detail. However, from a distance the viewer can’t see these subtleties. If it doesn’t look interesting from a distance then no one will spend the time walking across the room to look at it.
A strong work of art needs amazing detail, subtlety (I call this the quiet conversation) juxtaposed with bold, loud composition created by relative big differences in value contrast which makes it possible to see clearly from far away (loud conversation.) Both conversations need to be equally strong, however the former has slight differences in value and in the latter, big differences. Value, which is the degree of lightness or darkness of something, is primarily what controls these two conversations.
I like to think of how my art would look to someone driving by a gallery in a car traveling at 25 mph. If, in that one second, the loud conversation is compelling, then and only then will the driver pull over and come into the gallery to have a look at my work.
#2 SCALE UP YOUR TOOLS AND MARKS
When the work gets bigger, then so should the tools used to make that work. Imagine a 1” brush being used on a 12” square painting. The brush relative to the size of the art is quite large. Now if you make that 12” square painting 72” x 72” square, it has grown in scale 36 times! Taking a brush only slightly bigger, say 2”, will in no way be enough to generate a similarly powerful brushy feeling of the 12” painting. Basically, going larger with your tools will help you scale up the feeling you achieved in the smaller work.
Also, what might be a bold gesture, done with a twist of the wrist on a smaller work might not be enough once the work becomes larger. Your emotion and the physical movement of mark making will have to also grow in scale to pull off larger work. Larger tools will help you achieve larger work. And remember that to lose control and to invite spontaneity into a large work of art you must really embrace it to be noticeable.
In other words, practicing out of control in a corner that no one will notice isn’t really losing control. You know what I mean…I do this too. We need to step it up in a major way, in all ways, to pull off big scale.
#3 IMAGINE YOUR ART’S BOUNDARIES ARE BIGGER
When working on your Art, especially something at scale, it is important that you push yourself to think beyond the confines of the edges of your actual Art. Imagine that your art is merely a window into something bigger. Imagine you are creating a cropping of something that is bigger as you work. A shape that is made while worrying about the actual boundary of the art will feel small and self-conscious compared to one that can disregard the physical edges of the Art.
Imagine while you are working on your art that there is 12”or even 20” of border beyond the canvas. This is there for you to consider as well; it can be a runway for mark making to begin or end that will cross over or out of the actual art you are making. If you can play, work, like there are no boundaries, your art will feel more expansive. Sometimes I even let my brush paint on the actual studio wall outside the borders of the canvas.
Be expansive in all ways so that your art will not just look large but will feel large as well. It needs to be both.
Keeping these points in mind as you scale up really helps me.
What ways or thoughts do you use to make your Art bigger? Please comment below.
In gratitude, Nicholas
17 Comments
Hi! I’m
Nicholas Wilton
the founder of Art2Life.
With over 20 years experience as a working artist and educator, I’ve developed a systematic approach that brings authenticity, spontaneity and joy back into the creative process.
Join me and artists from all over the world in our Free Art2Life Artists Facebook Group or learn more here about Art2Life.
I have found that working in very different media–fibre, glass beads, as well as pastel, watercolour and ink, to name a few, has helped my approach to scale. I tend to work way too small, but designing king size art quilts helped me think bigger….
Nick, I just painted a painting 72”x 216”, the whole roll of canvas. Your writing is exactly how it worked. My whole body was involved in the strokes as I activated the canvas. Your post was particularly timely for me. Rhenda
Good topic Nick. It took me a while to find out how to get bigger. I took courage. If I made an impulsive scratch mark on a 10 inch square painting, and it didn’t work or even ruined it, there was not much to lose. But doing the same thing to a 3 foot square piece that I’d spent a hell of a lot more time layering up was a different story.
I would find it very valuable to hear about how you get larger materials to work ON. Do you make them? Where do you get them?
variety of ideas?
Thanks
I found one huge canvas at the HUB, Ashland, and bought it with the future in mind. Nicholas thank you. I am not ready to paint this big yet but have hopes.
Thank you for sharing your comments on making the painting seem more expansive by painting beyond the canvas. I never thought of the energy that is lost on the edges otherwise. I am excited to try this on my next painting. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and skills . Thank you
When I work on a large canvas I find it easier at times to put it on the floor .
I love all your advice thank you for being so generous, I will share this on face book , thanks Nick
I regularly paint murals so usually have a harder time painting small but you have given me food for thought with painting beyond the boundaries of the actual space and the loud conversation vs. the quiet one! Loved those analogies.
Your paintings look great ‘en masse’. Thanks for the advice. Working large, it is important to be mindful of each of those points…and not so easy.
Wonderful suggestions. Thank you!
Jill
I’ve started a series of large paintings dealing with a journey, immigration, and seeking a better life. As an immigrant from Eastern Europe myself I know what a huge undertaking this must have been for my parents and I needed to express this “huge” undertaking in the scale of my paintings. I think that intuitively I knew this and I believe I was successful, but I never put this into words, until YOU DID when you said that “your art will not just look large but must FEEL large as well”. WOW! You always say the words that I often don’t say aloud. Thank you for this, its a gift you give me when I read your blogs.
Would love to see your painting when it is finished.
Like you, I work 12″x12″ when I need to generate some ideas. I just made 12 small paintings, now I will look at them and pick out elements that I like to make larger paintings. The small paintings are crowded. The larger paintings have selected elements that have been expanded to enhance the good parts taken from the small paintings.
Thank you so much , very clear and easy to visualize . Chris, Australia
My problem is I can only make BIG art ie 2.5 metres min! One piece was 12 metres by 2.5 metres… how do I go small???? big is almost out of control for me.. my art is almost controlling me! Giselle
Thanks, that is really helpful advice. These kind of things you don’t seem to get told elsewhere but they make complete sense.
Thank you for your comments on working large. I found you comments regarding large tools and larger physical movement especially enlightening.