http://www.outdoorpainter.com / August-September 2019 55
SWITCHINGITUP
Polyis a regularparticipantat PleinAirEaston,
andsurprisingly,despiteherstatedpreferencefor
small-(andoftensquare-)formatpaintingsin the
6 x 6 to 12x 12-inchrange,shewasinfectedbythe
pleinairtrendof goingbigthatarguablyoriginated
at theevent.“I thinkit definitelystartedthere,and
theykeepgoingbigger,”Polysays.“I’vebeenpush-
ingmyselfto worklargeoutsideherein Easton.It’s
exciting.I beganto needmorethanonesession.I
wastakingtheworkonefurtherstep.”
Theartistsayssheusuallyexecutesonelarge
paintingat PleinAirEaston,andseveralof her
small-formatpiecesas well.Shehasnoproblem
moving between drastically different canvassizes.“Switchingis allfun,it’sallgood;eachis
justa littledifferent,”Polysays.“I getlostina
largepainting.I amthere.Whendoingthosebig
paintings,I becameenvelopedinit.I’minthe
sceneandpaintingthescene.”
Polycontinues,“There’sa lotmoretothink
aboutina largepainting.Youhavetofillthat
space,whichcanbefun.Theworkneedsmore
information,unlessyouaredoinganabstract.
WhenI golargerI feellikeI needtoputmore
detailandinformationinit andaddmoretothe
story.”Shesaysthatlarge-formatpaintingscan
havea mindof theirown.“Biggerpaintingstell
youmoreaboutwhattheywantthansmaller
paintingsdo.Theyaskyouformore;youhave
tostepbackoftenandaskthepaintingwhatit
wants.Biggermeansmoredetail,morenuance,
morethinking.It’sa bigeffort.
“Ontheotherhand,whenI’mgoingsmall,
I amabletolosedetailandsimplify.Onsmall
pieces,I usea knifeabout 90 percentof thetime.
I usea knifea lotmoreinthefieldthaninmy
studio.DotsanddashesaremythingwhenI
paintverysmall.I’llusea riggerfortinylinesand
theedgeof mypaletteknifefordots.I would
ratherpicka fewdetailsandmakesuretheyare
reallyseen.It givesthepaintinga littlesparkle.”
Whetherthey’rebigorsmall,Polylikesto
stressthateverypaintingshouldtella storyof
somekind.Thestoryis inevitablywrappedup
inthefocalpointof thepaintingas well—the
placetheartistwantstheviewer’seyetogoto
firstorspendthemosttimeexamininganden-
joying.Thestoryis themainideaof thepainting.
“I findit usefultotakeanextraminute
andputintowordswhatI loveabouta scene,”
Polysays.“Itallowsmetodesignatea focalarea.
Thepaintingbecomesthestory,andthenit’sa
matterofwhatwillsupportthatstory—even
movinga treetostrengthentheintendedmes-
sageif necessary.Thestoryanswersthequestion
‘Whatis thispaintingabout?’Thisextendsto
‘Whatis thefocalpoint?’and‘WhatamI try-
ingtosay?’OnceI’vedonethat,I radiateout
fromtheretotherestofthecanvas.ThenI key
thatsoftlyfromtheoutsidebackintothestory.
I thinkpainterssometimesforgetthattheyare
tryingtosaysomething.I amalwaystrying to
tellsomeemotionalstory.”
And that’s the long and short of it.Alveystrada
SaraLindaPoly
2017,oil, 10 x 8 in.
Privatecollection
Plein airSaraLindaPoly shows off a painting at Plein Air
Easton.
saralindapolystudio.com