These are notes made during painting and after I completed a 44” x 72” painting.

First of all, choose a subject that you enjoy looking at. You may be engaged with the image for weeks or months. Perhaps prepare some small studies to be sure of how you'll want to lay out the larger image.

Another good source for information on creating and shipping your art may come from your local art supply dealer. I had discussions with Andrew Lenz, of Lenz Arts in Santa Cruz, and he gave me shipping and packaging ideas which helped me.

Have fun and challenge yourself.

“ ... and now, [at my age] ...I know, even though it’s very scary, that if I’m in over my head, that’s where I’m supposed to be.” - from Syntax of a River, by Barry Lopez in conversation with Julia Martin.

Preparing your surface: Choose a high-quality canvas that has been well primed or that you prime. I use Gamblin Ground, an oil-based primer. It helps to keep the oil in the paint on the surface and makes subsequent layers apply smoothly

I attach the canvas to a quality plywood board with staples. My husband helped me with the large stretching operation. If you do this, remember that the final size of your painting should be painted inside the staples. and there needs to be excess canvas outside the image for stretched attachment. Using this technique, if the painting is traveling far to its destination, you can remove the staples and then roll the canvas for easier, safer transport. A good frame shop at the other end can handle both stretching and framing there.

You can also paint directly onto a properly primed, good quality finished plywood or other wood base, but this makes for a much heavier painting. I prefer the feel of the surface of canvas.

Notes on materials:

Use large tubes of a high-quality paint. I prefer Rembrandt for the pigment load, large caps, and smooth grind. Use large brushes in addition to your high quality small brushes. The hardware store sells large finish or trim brushes in a 2” size for $10. Experiment with palette knives. You can apply large strokes with two or three colors on the knife. Then you may soften the hard edges with a brush.

Have a large area available to mix your colors. I use a kitchen cart with a glass surface 17”x25”.

You may need to use two easels to support your work, as I did. It is important that the 2 easels match in height to make the painting level. Move the canvas to the floor if necessary to paint the sky comfortably, and to save extra strain on your shoulders. Raise it up for the lower areas.

Begin with a drawing. This may be changed as you follow this with roughing in the main shapes. Here is where having done one or more studies will become helpful.

This is the first "roughing in" step. See if the horizon line in your studies is appropriate for the larger size painting you are now creating.

Time to color in the large blocks. You'll soon see whether different height chairs or stools works for you, or whether you prefer to raise or lower the painting as your work moves around the canvas.

This is a closeup of the lower right. My foreground details were accomplished with the easels raised as high as possible, as I prefer to stand and paint, and bending over is not a good option. Note with a particularly large painting, the difference in degree of detail, along with color shading, are keys to giving depth to the work.

By now, the work is pretty much completed. (Add your signature!)

Be sure to varnish your finished work. Gamblin Colors makes a varnish that can be applied once the thick parts of the painting no longer give way when pressed. Unless you paint very thick, your painting can be dry in a couple of weeks. Gamvar dries in about 48 hours in normal heating conditions, but wait longer before shipping.