From the article: Painting on a Big Canvas
What is the biggest painting you've ever painted, and why did you paint it? Was it on a canvas, a board, or piece of paper? What was the subject and style of the painting? Share your experiences creating a huge painting, and any tips on working on a super-sized scale here. Share Your Biggest Art
I Love Painting Big
- I regularly work in diptychs of 72 by 48 inches but often I work with diptychs where each canvas is different sizes. I've done paintings where one is 6 by 4 feet and one is 4 by 4 feet. I love working 6 by 6 feet or 7 by 7 feet but you need specially made canvases for that.
- —Guest Ana Wieder-Blank
7ft Rustic Barn Doors
- I painted a 7x7 foot canvas of rustic barn doors for the back drop of a friend's wedding. Very rewarding experience. The most fun I've had doing a piece of artwork.
- —Guest Sheila
Visions of the Divine City
- I painted eight muslin theater panels for the backdrop of a marching band field show. They ranged 6'x10' to 10'x15 yards. The panels were worked in my driveway and I solicited other band parents to help. The drawing phase was done with sidewalk chalk, and gridded with a chalkline and reel. The panels were stretch onto hand-made stretchers and it took a truck to transport them.
- —GAINESS
30x18 Inches
- The largest I've ever painted was a 30x18" horse painting. When painting large paintings I found more values and shades are required for showing more details than small paintings.
- —Guest cvramana
Painting a Very Large Canvas
- I painted a 9.5 x 12 ft. wall (a mural) two years ago for a man who wanted a scene from Tuscany, Italy (where his family came from). We looked at various photos together, and chose one that suitably represents the various aspects of life in Tuscany (a scene of Urbino that includes a large cathedral and part of the town, as well as local agricultural aspects). He wanted the scene painted in oils, not acrylics, which proved to be very exacting and unusual, but he was willing and able to pay the price for materials (unfortunately he was not willing to pay the price for time spent). This painting took six months to complete, working virtually every day, during which time I did not paint anything else. A very exhausting experience, but one in which I learned a great deal, including the following: 1) always have an agreement as to price in writing, signed by both parties, before painting; and 2) in the written agreement, separate costs of time from costs of materials. There are many more.
- —Guest Ray Brown
A Roll of Canvas for One Painting
- Hanging in a friends workshop is an 18 x 4 foot oil painting on canvas. I painted it years ago just for the fun of painting. The painting is of an Australian landscape with blue sky and all the things found in rural Australia -- no people or buildings. This is not my largest painting but is my largest on canvas. When painting murals, a paint roller is useful to block in large areas. With larger works I use guide lines and graph the canvas out in pencil. To keep the colors constant, enough paint should be mixed to complete the painting as it is not easy to get the same color or tone when re-mixing. Large paintings are best on canvas as board has a tendency to warp. As a child I often would draw steam trains as big as I could reach on the side of the family's garage, it would take days to put in every nut and bolt, but what a reward. Am so glad I was free to draw where I wished.
- —lenhend
Pisces on 48x48" Canvas
- The need to paint something different was pressing on me. So I imagined doing a "Warhol" type of work using household enamel paints (something I read about). The canvas was covered with many small fish all swimming in the same direction, outlined in black and painted with different colors. There were 12 different colors and I have no idea how many little fish; it was a laborious task. The canvas was 48" x 48". Since the canvas came in a box with two another will have to be painted. The next one will be a Paris street scene; not quite so repetitious.
- —wiltonnelson
Largest Painting Ever
- Largest painting I ever painted is 4'x6', in acrylic and I loved painting it.
- —Guest Amita Bhakta
Largest canvas 54" x 67"mural 10'x60'
- In grad school I painted on the largest width canvas easily available 58" wide rolls, but mural break the size records, I collaborated on one at 10' x 60' that literally stopped traffic (became a good nuisance!).
- —jrjarvis
Share Your Biggest Art
- I attended a Creative Arts Summer School for two days in August 2010, and the teacher there wanted us to do big. I am not used to doing anything very big so it was a great challenge. On two different days I did paintings of 16.5 x 23.5 inches. One was at flowers in watercolour class and one was at creative drawing class. I may be tempted to try going big again, although I really enjoy small like the miniature project.
- —Guest Lorna Ghosh
150cm x 120cm
- Flower, modern art, oil on canvas. It is the form that dictates the color, but the color that brings out the form.
- —Guest Sahar Al-Jajeh
Samantha's Horse Barn
- An entire bedroom, two walls of pasture and horses, one to look like barn siding, the last was the closet doors becoming the barn doors, with one partial open and a horse looking out.
- —Guest Judy
Wall Mural 8'x11'
- I thought I would try to see if I could paint. So I took up my big brushes I painted the house with, that paint and some other artist paint and went to it. I painted a scene from a place in the Gatlinburg mountains. I decided to use the examples I had seen Bob Ross do and within 8 to 10 hours later I had finished all I could with the painting. Then in comes dad, oh you need this and that and ended up almost ruining my painting adding colors I was not comfortable adding. It all ended well enough and I kept it till we sold the house. After all all it took was some more paint to cover it up! You never know till you try, and many times you just might get yourself a surprise.
- —S.Haley
4x4-foot
- A few 4x4-foot canvases (stapled to wall) and recently a 4.5x5-foot canvas on easel for which I need a ladder to reach to top parts.
- —rghirardi
Hard work
- I46 x 114 cms. But I was in great shape at this period of time...I admire Veronese, Rubens or Michelangelo for that reason too.
- —yover
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