A while back, my favorite blogger initiated a painting project that inspired me. She challenged herself to paint 100 meadows in oil, a medium with which she was not so comfortable. And she chose to do it on 100 blue index cards.
I tend to stick to photographs that I’ve taken for my source of inspiration for oil paintings. Indeed, I approach a painting much like I would a jigsaw puzzle. I search out the tiniest details and try to figure out what that dark and blurry spot could be behind my subject. It’s almost like a game, and it engages all my senses for hours. That’s why I sleep so well after working on a painting! However, I do admire paintings that seem to capture the essence of a place or a feeling with big, broad strokes and hazy inferences. Those paintings seem to relate a breath of life in nature and a moment in time that I struggle to relay in my detailed paintings.
I purchased some alphabet index cards earlier in the summer from an etsy seller. Then I decided to not just attach small canvases to them, but to invest in a container of gesso from Jerry’s and paint the canvas onto the cards like my favorite blogger did. The cards are heavy enough that the gesso doesn’t seep through although it does tend to warp the surface as it dries.
What I like most about the index card project is the practice it offers me to loosen up my strokes. I don’t feel pressured to supply every detail that’s in a photograph, and the subject matter—meadows, barns, and churches—is simple and easy. I definitely need practice with mixing greens and painting realistic trees! This project gives me the freedom to explore and not feel like I’m wasting expensive supplies.
I’ve recently started using these mini pieces of art for greeting cards. My hope is that the simple scenes will evoke fond memories of a place, bring a smile to the recipient’s face, or perhaps add a little color to some small space. (Nate, your mother may be a poet, too, but I’ll never be as good as you!)
