I’m excited to tell you the story of this statement piece— the largest painting I’ve ever made! At 36x72 inches in size, it is ideal wall art for a dining room wall, a great room, or hanging above a sofa.
“Wrapped” in a black Hefty bag, my 11-year-old son presented me with a gift over the holidays. It looked like a door, leaning against the wall beside our tree. Upon opening it, I realized it was a canvas, and he told me it was the largest one that would fit in his father’s truck.
It was exciting, but also super intimidating! The thing was literally twice the size of my largest painting prior, not to mention bigger than me! Plus, coming from my son, it already felt so precious that I didn’t want to screw it up.
So, I took the giant canvas into the studio, where I hung it in my workspace on the wall and could see it daily. I began to get familiar with it and opened myself up to ideas for it. Thoughts of a local marshy pond kept coming to mind. This particular spot is an overlooked place in my tiny town that I find to be absolutely gorgeous! I wanted to explore it in detail and present it with all the grandeur it deserves.
By February, I knew how I wanted to paint it on that huge surface, and I got started on the 23rd. With 70’s music playing and a lot of fun vibes flowing, that first day working on this painting was a great start! My confidence soared with every brush stroke. Check out these clips of the painting process in action from my Instagram feed:
I took breaks to work on smaller pieces for my other art collections, shows, and commissions, returning to my “‘Big One,” as I’ve lovingly came to call it, whenever I had the itch. After four months of on-and-off work painting, I laid down the last details and signed the bottom right corner on June 28th. The Big One was done!
I stepped back and looked at my work. The painting was beautiful, and I felt proud and incredibly happy with how it came out. It has a strong peaceful feeling, with soothing colors that relax and calm. It makes me feel just how I do while standing by the place which inspired it.
Not only that, but I had the best time painting this scene! I realized my love for painting large work and the subject of this marshy pond, too. It was a process overcoming my intimidation of painting something this size, and it is my pleasure to present you with the finished piece, which I have titled “The Way It Ought To Be”:
Would you like to hang this in your home? This big, beautiful acrylic painting is now available for sale, and I invite you, if at all possible, to come see it up close and in person, either by visiting my studio (contact me to make an appointment) or at my solo show August 2-30 at Pour-d in Rockford, Michigan. If you can't be there in person and are interested in owning this painting, send me an e-mail!
I'd love to hear your thoughts about this painting. Leave me your comments below!