Advantages of Painting a Series

"Poor Man's Tires"

Artists often create series of works—for instance, a run of paintings with similar subject matter, technique, or style. I usually juggle four or five ongoing series at a time. Even when I think one is ‘finished,’ I may return to it off and on. In this post I’ll explore some of the benefits (and trials) of working this way.

A series of paintings might have a common subject matter, such as lighthouses of unusual design, in forbidding locations, in stormy weather, or visited on a vacation, or a single lighthouse as it appears in different seasons or times of day, from various angles, and so on. Or, it might be unified by the artist experimenting with a technique, for example using a new digital brush, reserving areas with stencils, layer masks, or alpha locks, employing a limited color scheme or trying variations on a scheme, starting from a dark canvas, and so on. In past series I’ve reused bits of one painting in the others, combined virtual media in new ways, developed elements of the composition in a certain order of layers, blended layers differently, or painted everything on a single layer. Finally, an artist might use a series to explore the style (characteristic brush strokes, techniques, color harmonies, compositional elements, iconography, and so on) of a traditional or digital artist, era, or movement.

The LaSalle Series

Here’s a brief example—an early series on the auto-repair shops along LaSalle Avenue in Waco, TX.  I passed these establishments on the way to work for sixteen years. Once the buildings were staid and inconspicuous, but new Hispanic owners painted them in vibrant colors. (See "Poor Man's Tires" above.)

"Bill's Automotive Service Center"

In this series I experimented with some digital techniques, like gathering reference images from Google Earth and copying layers from one digital painting to the next. One reference image had a spectacular evening thundercloud that I reused in all the paintings. To feature it, I chose a tall portrait composition with a low horizon line. Other compositional similarities include isolating the shop from neighboring buildings, keeping landscape details to a minimum, and emphasizing the business signage. The tight but simple style is in homage to Edward Hopper.

In future posts I’ll reflect in more detail on this series and some others—on what inspired the series, what I hoped to accomplish with it, how I’ve learned from it, and (looking to the future) why I’ve lost interest in it, might return to it, or take it in another direction. 

Benefits (and Trials) of Painting a Series

An obvious reason to paint in a series is to produce a body of work for sale or display—a group of paintings for a show or portfolio, illustrations for a book, images for note cards, or simply a companion piece for a successful work, and so on. But there are other more personal and less pecuniary reasons. Painting a series helps you observe a subject more closely, study a technique more carefully, and appreciate a style more fully. When problems arise (and they always do when you paint), the series lets you stay with them and solve them. As you practice techniques or imitate a style, you form habits that help your future paintings be more natural and fluid, and the quality of your work often improves. As a result, you’re more likely to produce a work you’re really pleased with, for sometimes the second (or third or fourth) time is a charm. In the process of painting a series, you can learn a lot about yourself—your strengths and weaknesses as an artist, your interests, and your own style of mark-making, which becomes more apparent in hindsight. 

A successful series can suggest something new to paint: namely, another of those works that you know you can do and have enjoyed painting. Even a less fruitful series can prompt you to tackle problems to solve. Either way, it’s a relief for those dry spells when you’re searching for motivation to paint. And thinking in series is inspirational in another way. It requires you to be self-conscious about why you choose certain subjects, use certain techniques, and are drawn to certain styles. This helps you imagine future series-projects you will enjoy.

Sometimes, however, painting in series can be a pain. The biggest problems are boredom with a subject or style, or falling into a rut of using the same techniques. In this case you’re not challenging yourself and not growing in your abilities and self-understanding. Painting then becomes personally pointless, even if the result is a steady product. When one series gets tiresome, I switch to another series, or take a break from them and do a one-off painting that’s lurking in the back of my mind. 

But I always go back to my series. The advantages far outweigh the trials.

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Thanks for reading!

I hope that you enjoyed this post and that it inspires you to enjoy digital painting. If you find this post helpful, please share it with your friends. And please send me your insights on digital painting and suggestions for Digital Paint Spot.

Bob Kruschwitz