Chained - 24" x 36", Acrylic on canvas

This is the biggest painting I've done in a long while. I'm starting to prefer working larger, but there are 2 drawbacks. 1) it takes longer, 2) I can't lay the finished art on my scanner and get a nice clean scan. It will be a while before I'm able to get some quality digitals of it taken. I know slides are better quality, but then, I've got to get the slides scanned in (I don't have a transparency bed on my scanner), and it just becomes one more step in the process. If I can get (or borrow) a digital camera capable of taking reproduction quality images, that's what I'll do. I'll also have to get a camera stand so I can keep the camera perpendicular to the art.

When I did the sketch for this painting, I knew immediately that it was something I wanted to paint large. I felt certain that it would be one of my favorite pieces. I do think it's one of my better paintings and I'm very proud of it, but I don't feel as connected to it as I anticipated. Usually, when I do something that gives me the same spark this image did, I think "I don't ever want to sell this image". I don't know why, but the feeling isn't the same for this one. I think I want to find a good home for it. Maybe it's because the walls of my apartment are getting full. It's time to do an art show.

Here's a few of the preliminary sketches (9"x12" - colored pencil on tracing paper)