[Morrigoon]

I think I know what my problem is now. I can only "see" in one scale. And all my pictures, regardless of the size of canvas, are painted in that scale (relative to the size of canvas). That's why my thumbnail drawings have just as much "information" in them as my 18x24" canvas boards. For some reason I have trouble imagining beyond the bounds of the scale that I "see".

Some of my favorite art in terms of the classics are the renaissance paintings in which there is so much going on that you have to look at the painting one area at a time. I can't remember the name of the work, but there's a floor-to-ceiling painting in the Louvre (it may even be on display in the same room as Mona Lisa, but no promises), where there is a massive feast taking place, and there are human figures all over the canvas at different levels with different events taking place simultanously. I absolutely LOVE that kind of art, where there isn't just one subject or one action taking place. Unfortunately, the closest I've come to that sort of work is my Rose Bowl painting, which I did from a photograph, so technically I still haven't been able to assemble a work like that myself, just imitate life off a photo.

(Sigh) I'm afrad I may be doomed to working off photos... my only good art has all come from imitating what has already been seen.

Perhaps my next step will be to try and assemble photos taken at different times of different things going on and "collage" the images into one work where it's all happening simultaneously. Big undertaking for me though. That's gonna take work.