Why paint in a series?

I thoroughly enjoy painting in a series and creating collections of work which have a common thread running throughout the paintings. But why do I enjoy this way of painting?

Painting in a series has many benefits:

Limited Palette: Often I paint using a limited palette. The Enchanted Forest series was painted using primarily Prussian Blue, Phthalo Blue, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna and Raw Umber and White to tint and shade. By using a limited palette I was able to mix a bulk of paint and keep them in plastic tubs. This was time saving and meant the colours were consistent throughout each painting. (with a little spray of water the paint lasted for weeks!) Also, the paint was readily available for more than one substrate to be worked on or if a sudden flash of inspiration took place.

Inspiration: Often I find as I’m working on one painting I suddenly think of another composition or want to emphasise a particular area more; one painting will inspire or inform another. In particular when I was painting ‘Morning Forage,’ I pondered and played around with having trees in the clearing however, I felt this looked too cluttered and distracted from the calm, early morning feel I wanted to convey. The concept of the trees inspired the painting ‘Enchanted Forest’.

Explore: Working in a series enables me as an artist to explore a limited palette and see how far the colours can take me. This is a great way of learning about colours and can really help your understanding of colour theory. When I use to read about colour theory I often found it overwhelming. Instead, reducing my colour palette to the primaries and using Raw Umber or Black to tint and shade I discovered the possibilities of these colours was endless. The Enchanted Forest Collection shows how I placed different emphasis on the colour combinations.

Mark making: I tend to paint intuitively blending what I see visually with what I feel and hear. Therefore paintings in different collections need to be explored and created in different ways. The Enchanted Forest collection has a different feel to the River Walk collection. By painting in a series I can try out different mediums, paints and tools to create the experience.