Small Canvas Works

I recently finished up some small acrylic-on-canvas pieces for a holiday show, where everything is 8 x 10 and smaller. It’s different when you haven’t worked much on small surfaces. I continue to explore acrylics, using brushes and palette knives. I found it helpful to keep the scene simple, especially on a small surface, where you could start thinking about small details too. I got started with the big shapes and finished with details, but not too many. I also tried a limited color palette. It helps to work with just three primaries, a few earthy colors and white. It’s enjoyable and challenging to work with acrylics because it’s such a different method from watercolor in establishing darks and lights and to mix paint and color on the canvas!