#30×30, 2025, Day 06: Dry Brush Heaven!

I like to show these 4×4″ mini’s in a matte, (forcing you to see them smaller at first) because they really look best at arms length. It’s similar to how a painting is meant to be seen on the wall; standing across the room, not with your nose in the frame.

You read the big shapes at a distance, and all the tiny detail is subconscious information.

I don’t mean unimportant! I just mean – the brain can see a lot more than the eye can consciously resolve. You just know it’s there even if you cant ‘see’ it.

But I also love looking at close-ups. People used to bring a magnifying glass to the museum, so they could lean in and see the brushwork.

For me, that’s the two ways to your panting needs to work.

On the wall, across the room (or arms length for a small sketch), but also inches away, staring at the brush strokes. It has to work at both levels simultaneously. Otherwise the subconscious detail is not there for the mind to chew on.

I’m trying to imagine what I need to do to reproduce this effect at a larger scale. I’m imagining house painting brushes – half destroyed might best :) Or using pieces of wood as palette knives.

Ok, that’s it today, saving some for tomorrow!