Size matters, I know that. I’m sure you know that. This especially applies to art. No size is the perfect size unless it is perfect for you in your situation. That’s why these are the best and the worst of my inventory.

Over the past few years, I’ve painted this seven foot Lotus on a heavy, hard panel. A Nativity scene is on the other side.

and this. It’s long and glorious.

Circles

and this. It’s like having a window overlooking the trail. Property taxes remain reasonable.

The Trails of Round Lake

and this. Big trees deserve big space.

Her Favorite Chicken (I’ve had a terrible time photographing large paintings so this a wee bit off!)

These are all at lease five feet one direction.

But even this puny 52″ landscape may be too large for some people but really, it’s just right:

I like larger sketches so much that I bought a thirty foot long roll of fifty inch wide Stonehenge paper. It allowed me to create pencil drawings so large that I built one of my easels up specifically to take advantage of the new opportunity!

There are some images that just beg for life and they want to live big. I’ve been here to help that happen.

This pencil sketch on paper well exceeds the size of any drawing you’ll normally see but in person, it makes perfect sense. This size allows for seriously detailed perfection. It is to wall art what hi fidelity is to music reproduction.

My English Patient: the chassis of a Lotus Europa before restoration

Large is not for everyone, I agree. It’s certainly not good for my budget these days, considering the costs. Now, I see my art shrinking in a way that mimics housing of the roaring twenties compared to those of the depression years. But only the size is affected. Quality remains as it was, very good.

Whereas I painted large because that’s what I personally wanted and could easily afford, now I begin to paint on a smaller scale because that is what I can transport and store and may offer for sale. Smaller sizes probably suit others better. I stretched a behemoth canvas last week in preparation for a painting I would love to have. But then I asked myself if it would sell, and I decided that it would not easily find it’s market except as a print so I haven not begun.

I spent half a day making another canvas that was smaller and even that one has not gotten a single stroke of paint on it because I fear that it too would be unsaleable simply for it’s size. What I would have considered small is now large.

For now, I expect to paint on a smaller scale unless commissions dictate otherwise. This is reasonable. Even something as mundane as a milkshake has it’s perfect size range, with too small being unsatisfying but too large causing unnecessary waist.

If you want your painting big, including murals, I’m up for it. But there’s nothing wrong with petite and pretty. Here’s my guide: if I can’t fit it inside my vehicle, I’m not doing it unless it’s got a buyer.

Pray I don’t end up with one car and choose the Lotus! But if so, I was doing 5″ X 7″ sketches in my poverty back in the 1980’s. It could happen again. ‘Little’ can look just fine as proven by this bird painted on a denim pant leg.