Size Matters!

Let's get our minds out of the gutter for a second! I'm talking about the size of paintings. For a while I have been debating the importance of size in works of art. Does it always have to be big for it to get noticed or for it to be taken serious? I used to paint in large formats, but it was because the style I was working with looked better large. My still lifes have been small since the beginning, and I've kept them that way because I love the intimacy they bring forth when being viewed, but that's changing. I'm being forced, in a way, to paint larger.
Woodward Gallery got in touch with me the other morning, and they wanted to include me in a project they have with Gourmet Garage. I will be given a show to hang in the seven windows of the fancy food store. I have a lot of work, but not big enough to fill seven windows that require a 24 x 36 inch piece each. This means that I have to come up with a number of larger pieces in five weeks. Yes, work is supposed to go up the first week of March!

Two nights ago I started this 18 x 24 inch still life. The first image is from the first night of work, the second is last night's progress. Not visible in the pictures but the work I did last night was a lot. This is the first of a number of attempts to come up with a new body of work, in a way. I'll be working non stop from now until then. We'll see if I can do this!