POOL IN MAY

Nancy Herman

9" x 12"

oil on canvas board

When I went to see the Van Gogh exhibit I had been feeling for a while that  I was enjoying painting a bit less than I had when I began making these small works.  Brushes were getting too small and I was feeling cramped, so I was very receptive to the exhuberance of the paint and texture of Van Gogh's work.  As a consequence I have been  painting slightly larger ( 9" x 12" instead of 6" x 8") and trying to use lots more paint and move around the canvas freely without drawing anything before I start to paint.  Just diving in.  I am enjoying these paintings much more.  I am not using nearly as much paint as Van Gogh did but perhaps I will work up to that.  Let me know what you think.  Unfortunately the actual dimension of the paint doesn't really show in a reproduction.  That's why you have to go to Museums and art galleries to really see what paintings are all about.