Intimate Art: A Place for Small Works

Schumacher wrote,”Small is Beautiful”.

What is small is not lesser! Although we have been acculturated to believe that bigger is better I think it is worth reflecting on that assumption.

Sometimes I work small when I am stuck and taking a big risk is too stressful—who needs more stress! While fear of the blank canvas is something many of us face not just in art but in beginning anything, we can find freedom in exploring on a small scale. Nothing to lose so we take bigger risks which leads to bigger learning and potentially bigger satisfaction—sometimes :) but if it doesn’t work out we can more easily let it go.

Also from the artist’s point of view there are a few things to consider.

Small works on paper or even on wood or canvas are cheaper, easier to store, easier to set up and therefore more affordable for everyone. Easier to make, easier to share and easier to keep. This is not to say that they are less complex to compose, paint and design.

If you work large you have to up the ante a lot: bigger studio, more investment and more risk. Great for some but not for all of us.

I personally like variety but can only go so far in upscaling my art without reaching the tipping point where the joy of art making meets the stress of “biggering” everything.

From the collectors point of view there are things to think about too.

Not everyone has the budget for large original art works. Not everyone has the wall space.

But there are places in everyone’s home, large or small, where intimate art is most appropriate and welcome—a small bite of inspiration:

*the narrow wall space in a tight corner,

*between close together windows,

*in small kitchens, bathrooms, offices

*in a half story second floor in the triangle between the sloping ceiling and a window,

*leaned into a narrow shelf

If you look around, you will find the place where a small work can be comfortably held rather than overwhelmed.

And if you do have a large space you want to inspire with original art, groupings work too:

*two paintings stacked

*4 paintings in a row or stacked 2 over 2

*a gallery of diverse images—photos, paintings, prints —arranged in a collage pattern where you can collect the grouping over time, diversifying the frames as well—a creative act of your own.

Finally a small work of art can be made to take up more space, if desired, by using a large mat and a larger frame. Sometimes this works beautifully.

Intimate work calls you from a distance. It asks you to come closer to explore what it has to give and with your attention you give something back in a dance like reciprocal relationship.