". . . a brush with nature"

Many artists, as they develop in their careers, find themselves creating the majority of their work in the same size and format over and over. This is not to say this is a bad thing. In fact paintings of similar size and subject matter may work well as a series, or on a more practical note, a standard size canvas can certainly simplify the process of purchasing framing for a body of work. An artist may even go as far as to always choose a horizontal format over a vertical one, for example, because that has become what is more comfortable for him or her to work in. But sometimes for some artists repetition may translate to a lack of challenge and that can be misinterpreted as a loss of passion in the work.

I believe we would all like to experience the joy of creation and the passion for our art again, so why not think out of the box and try something fresh and new to jump start it? It needn't be a major change such as subject matter or medium. What about something as minimal as changing the size of your work? In fact, you needn't even start completely from scratch, but can rework one of the less successful pieces we all have laying around in our studios.

    "Embrace" pastel is an example of successful cropping.
For this challenge I suggest taking a part from one of your paintings, drawings, sketches or whatever and cut it down. Be bold. This is not really such a radical thought and one that just might turn out quite successfully for you. Sometimes this one change alone improves the piece so drastically that nothing else is necessary. Other times you may choose to use the "new" painting as an under painting or starting place for a completely new work of art. Either way you are experimenting, exploring uncharted waters and perhaps discovering a new little "gem" you didn't even realize you had in your studio all the time.

Additionally, there are many opportunities out there now for shows that only accept miniature or small format works. If you are an artist that normally works big this may be one way for you to explore these types of events without totally changing your style. Who knows? You may discover you really love painting smaller now and again ... all because you were willing to "expand your vision by cropping your view."