Small Size, Big Impact, with Golden Artists Acrylic
[Sponsored] Although she also paints large canvasses, lately LaurieAnne Gonzalez has been working in a much smaller format. Her tiny landscapes, created with Golden Artist Acrylics on paper, make a big impression.
Before moving to Arizona, LaurieAnne Gonzalez didn’t even paint landscapes, but the warm color and exciting textures of the desert environment completely captivated her. “Now I carry my love of landscape painting throughout all of my travels,” she says.
As someone who likes to work fast, LaurieAnne finds that the quick-drying qualities of acrylics suit her perfectly. She especially enjoys working with Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylics. Known for a smooth, buttery consistency, the paints have a thicker viscosity that allows for pronounced strokes and marks.
Although LaurieAnne has painted on canvasses as large as 3×4 feet in the past, she began working small—really small— a few years ago and has loved the challenge of capturing a piece of beautiful scenery on a tiny, 3×5-inch scale.
All of LaurieAnne’s paintings are inspired by her travels. “I only paint from photos I’ve taken myself,” she says. “When I come home from a trip, I immediately start working from those photos. I sometimes revisit a series when I’m hit with the travel bug and miss a particular place. It’s a way for me to recall the experience.”
TOOLKIT
In terms of materials, there are only a few things that change for the artist between her small and large paintings: the amount of paint she uses and the size of her brushes.
Paints: Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylics (cadmium red light, benzimidazolone yellow medium, ultramarine blue, yellow ochre); Golden OPEN Slow drying Acrylic (carbon black and Payne’s gray); and Blick Matte Acrylic (white)
Surface: Strathmore 400 Series acrylic paper pad, Canson XL watercolor paper pad (11×15-inch Euro Fold), Blick Premier Stretched Cotton Canvas
Brushes: Princeton Summit Series 6100 White Soft synthetics; Da Vinci Top Acryl synthetics; Princeton Real Value White Taklon synthetics (no. 9155); Royal Langnickel Soft Grip White Taklon synthetics (short handle set)
Miscellaneous: Golden acrylic mediums, Golden acrylic gesso, Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver, Blick multi-colored painting knife set, Derwent Spritzer mister spray bottle, New Wave glass tabletop palettes (white), Blick Studio disposable palette pads, Prismacolor Premier colored pencils (set of 12, Botanical Colors), a Blick French Easel by Jullian, and a pocket-size Artist’s Color Wheel.
Tips for Working Tiny
Although she approaches a tiny landscape much like she would a larger painting, LaurieAnne has developed a few strategies for painting on a smaller scale. “The biggest challenge is to trying to avoid overworking the painting by getting too detailed,” she says. “Be loose! Remind yourself to hold your brush loosely and step away from the work every once in a while to look at it from a distance. Everything changes when you step back a bit!”
LaurieAnne is currently excited about a new camper van and the artistic adventures ahead. “I can’t wait to see the paintings that come out of all of these trips I’m planning,” she says. “All of my practice at painting tiny is going to pay off, because I can pretty much turn the van into my own tiny, mobile studio!” Learn more at laurieanneart.com and follow the artist @laurieanneart.
Learn more about Golden Artist Acrylics at DICKBLICK.COM.
This article was sponsored by Blick.
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