Getting ready for my next online workshop has got me thinking about what a big painting really is. Let’s face it, big can mean different things to different people. For many, a 2ft (60cms) square painting is plenty big enough and that’s absolutely fine. Not everyone has the room to work on massive canvases!

In the workshop, all the ideas & processes can apply to smaller work too. It’s all about creativity and having an experimental approach to your painting.

Here’s a few of my paintings that I’ll describe as ‘not small’.

Kinder Scout from Mam Tor. Oil, Collage & Mixed media on board 51x56cm

I think a lot of it comes down to having more room to move the paint around and the ability to make more expansive marks. Paintings like the one above are a really good size and very popular too. They’re big enough to make a real impact on the space they hang in without being overwhelming or physically demanding to paint.

Jacob’s Ladder, Kinder. 76x76cm Oil & mixed media on canvas

This one is more of a small big painting. 76x76cm (30”x30”). It’s big enough to give you room to make exciting marks. Below you can see it displayed in the gallery window. It makes a good impact but doesn’t dominate the space.

It doesn’t have to be on canvas…

Bigger paintings don’t have to be on board or canvas either. The one below is on watercolour paper. A full standard sheet of watercolour paper is 56x76cm (22"x30”) and that is plenty big enough. I’ve done lots of work like this where I cut a full sheet to make a 56x56cm square. That’s a great surface to work on.

What makes a big painting, a big painting?

Here’s a few of my paintings that I’ll describe as ‘not small’.

It doesn’t have to be on canvas…