Size of shape, size of panel, paper, or canvas.

I’m ending all debate here with this statement… Yes, size does matter!

Let’s start first with the size of your shapes. Think about proportions and ratios.

Proportion is the relationship of one size to the whole. i.e., “The proportion of my canvas is 12”x16”.”

Ratio is the relationship of sizes to each other. i.e., “The ratio of my 10” x 16” panel follows Phi or the Golden Mean which is the ratio of 1:1.6.”

To understand Size as a Design Element, we must also understand the Design Principle of Variety. Size and Variety go together like hand and glove.

A ratio of 50/50 brings a calmness, or some could say boringness, to our designs.

Using a variety of sizes within our designs brings an energy and aliveness to our paintings.

For my big shapes, I enjoy using a ratio of 80/20 or even a 90/10 to some of my designs.

Your shapes’ attributes are made up of size, shape, color, value, edges and texture. When your shapes have a ratio of 50% warm light shapes and 50% cool dark shapes, the overall composition’s weight is very balanced, and could be a boring, uninteresting painting. Shifting the weight to one or the other brings more energy and life to the painting. So, look at your designs with the size and proportion of your shapes as one determining factor. Avoid the 50/50 and lean more toward the 60/40, 70/30 or 80/20.

Look at contemporary Russian artist Vitaly Makarov’s work and his brilliant use of Size as a design element. https://www.facebook.com/vitaly.makarov1

Vitaly Makarov  “Poetry of a seaside evening”  oil 20 x 24 inches, 2021

Vitaly Makarov  “Summer evening in the fields” oil 16 x 22 cm, 2021

Vitaly Makarov “June roses”  oil on canvas, 60 x 70 cm, 2021

Side Note on ownership: Keep this in mind; it doesn’t really matter what you paint, what matters most is the design, in which you, the director, create the most intriguing, dramatic, interesting, beautiful design you can possibly make. This active attitude is a flip from the more general passive attitude of painting simply what you see and replicating it as closely as possible. Active attitude is taking extreme ownership of your design. Active ownership says, “if it’s a weak painting, it’s entirely my responsibility.” Passive ownership says, “it looks this way because the scene looked this way, I painted it the way I saw it, warts and all.” Or passive ownership says, “the light kept changing, or it started to rain, or there were too many distractions.” When you hear yourself think and say these statements, you’ll know you’re not taking ownership of your painting. Move closer from passive ownership to active ownership and your paintings will start to shine and will be a truer representation for others to be moved by and to enjoy.

Active Ownership thinks, “I’m going to use what’s in front of me to make the best of what I have. I’ll select what’s important. Eliminate what doesn’t work. Add or emphasize what does work. I’ll simplify the value structure by unifying the sameness of my shapes, adding only the details that add value. I’ll make this work the way I want it to because I’m the artist, I’m the director.”

Keys: A quick word about keys. High Key is a painting created in a lighter value structure; 90% of the shapes may be in the 1-5 values, while 10% may have a 6 or 7 value range.

Low key paintings are more like nocturnes. 90% of these shapes are in the 6-9 range, 9 being your very darkest, closest to black value. 10% of the painting is operating in the 4-5 range.

Full key paintings have the full range of high and low value structures.

Spatial Density Awareness

I’ve found that in going from a very large 18” x 24” plein air piece down to a 5” x 7” panel for my next painting, there occurs a change in spatial awareness without losing quality awareness. I get the same sensation when I rent a truck for moving, finding myself driving this much larger vehicle. My spatial awareness has increased proportionally to the size of the truck, but while driving, my quality awareness for my life and the lives of others remains the same, as if I were driving my car. So, when I turn in the truck and resume driving my smaller car, my spatial awareness changes again but my value awareness comes with me. I get this same feeling when choosing to paint on a smaller panel. I’m aware of the smaller panel size but my value awareness stays with me to fill and fit into this much smaller panel. Lesson learned here: when painting on bigger panels, use bigger brushes and more paint; smaller panels require smaller brushes. If I were to put a phrase to this sensation it would be “Visual Spatial Density Awareness” remains the same no matter what size panel you are painting.

Panel sizes

Square

The square format creates a solid strong emotion when viewing. It’s not going to tip over or fall. Its overall feeling is that of being well balanced. Play off this balance when placing your center of interest. The ⅓ – ⅔ or Golden Mean is a suggestion for placement for your center of interest. Don’t try and use it within the square format – you may end up with a result that looks forced or formulaic. Instead, concentrate on the balance within the image. How do all the shapes work together and with the negative space surrounding them?

Rectangle: The most common proportion is the rectangle. For this, get used to using both horizontal and vertical orientations to your panels. The horizontals are your traditional landscapes. Great for long, wide vistas. These horizontal paintings emote calming, relaxing emotions, whereas the vertical paintings emote passionate and energetic feelings. I enjoy painting in both orientations. Standard sizes are your typical 5×7, 6×8, 8×10, 9×12, 11×14, 12×16, 16×20, 20×30 and 24×36. However, this year I am experimenting with more of a Golden Mean ratio to my panels: 9×14, 10×16, 11×18, 12×20, 15×24, 25×40. This is not to say that one is better than the other, standard size versus Golden Mean. For competitive painting at Plein Air Festivals, it’s a good strategy to have some competitive advantages up your sleeve. One is to make your art stand out from the rest. If most painters are using the standard format, then one way to be different is to change up your format and orientation.

These extended formats provide a fun challenge. I used them for the recent Cedarburg Plein Air event, and I’ll bring them to Fort Wayne, IN and Bluff Strokes in Dubuque IA.

At Cedarburg this year, the painting below was awarded a tie for First Place Artist Choice. It helped to have this panel in a golden ratio size, plus painting it with a vertical orientation provided good connections with the dramatic subject. This piece is 12” x 20” painted on an oil primed panel. The frame was made by fellow artist Marc Anderson. Back in March-April, I had decided to use the golden ratio this year. I knew Marc made beautiful frames. I contacted him and asked for a quote and the timeframe he needed to make me around 30 frames.

Lessons learned: #1 plan your frames and panel sizes well in advance of your needing them. Get this done so you can spend your energy on other things. #2 Know your event’s size limitations. I wanted to paint the largest size allowed, which was a 30” outside frame dimension in any one direction. Working backwards, I knew Marc’s standard frame was 3.75” wide, which would make my 20” panel the biggest allowable painting size.

Steve Puttrich – Cedar Creek – 2021 oil on panel.

Scene Reference

Circle or Oval

Other shapes are also fun to experiment with. I enjoy rummaging through Good Will or our local frame shop for bargains. One time they had round frames for sale, so I bought a few of these to see how they would work. Haven’t painted a round painting yet, but we still have those frames.

Recap:

All in all, don’t be locked into your standard size and shape painting. Add variety (a design principle we’ll explore in a later segment) and stay flexible when making your shapes. Occasionally, mix your panel and paper sizes up and you’ll be amazed at how much energy and emotion are carried with these different sizes and orientations.