Working in a Series

Three pieces from “Chasing Daylight” series.

I used to paint one piece at a time. Slowly plodding along as I waited for layers to dry or for the painting to give me direction.  But a few years ago I started painting in a series.  What a game changer! 

Having several pieces on the go at once offers so many advantages to the way I work. First of all, I don’t get stuck on one piece. I found out the hard way that focusing on one piece usually causes me to overwork it.  Because I’m impatient, I can pretty quickly start making a muddy mess. Now, instead of waiting for the paint to dry on one, I can skip right over to another and keep going.  Sometimes I’ll carry the brush right off one panel onto the next without even pausing. I love the spontaneity this allows.

It also helps me explore a theme, a color palette or an idea more fully.  One piece often isn’t enough to do this. Painting a number of pieces with the same theme, allows me to dig into a concept and to explore it from different angles. I can sate my curiosity - What would happen if I added more linework?  Would adding orange here punch it up?  I wonder what would happen if I added a glaze?  I don’t have to try out all these ideas on one piece, but rather, I can try them out in varying ways on different pieces.  

When painting in a series, one piece will sometimes begin to emerge as the ‘best’ one.  That helps me see what the others are missing. It’s a bit like being on a group hike - sometimes one person is out in front bravely leading the way but as they tire, someone else leap frogs past them bringing new energy to the group. In the end everyone reaches the peak. As one piece gets stronger that elevates the rest and then sometimes by the end I’m not even sure which one I used to favor - I love them all!  It brings a wonderful  sense of cohesion to the work.

Usually by the end of a series which may take several months, I am ready to move on and go in search of the next idea.