Working Small: Making Space for Experimentation and Creative Exploration
- 7 days ago
- 5 min read
When we sit down to make art, it can be surprisingly easy to put pressure on ourselves.
We might decide that we need to create something good. Perhaps we have a particular image in mind, or we feel that the piece needs to be worthy of the paper we are using. Before we have even made the first mark, we can find ourselves worrying about getting it wrong.
This is one of the reasons I love working small.
A small piece of paper can feel much less intimidating. It gives us somewhere to try an idea without having to commit to a large sheet or a finished artwork. We can experiment, make mistakes, change direction and simply see what happens.
And sometimes, those little experiments lead somewhere much more interesting than the idea we started with.
Small can mean freedom
Working on a smaller scale changes the way we approach a piece.
If you have a large sheet of beautiful watercolour paper in front of you, it is understandable that you might hesitate before putting the first mark on it. There is a sense that the artwork needs to justify the paper!
With a small piece of paper, that pressure can disappear.
You can try a different brush. Make a mark with a pen. Add a splash of colour. Work quickly. Leave something out. Change the composition. Try a completely different approach.
There is less at stake.
That makes it easier to ask the most useful question an artist can ask:
“What happens if I try this?”
You don't necessarily need to know whether the experiment will work. The point is to find out.
A collection of small experiments
The photograph at the start of this blog post shows some of my own small studies. Rather than trying to create one finished painting, I have worked across several small pieces of paper, experimenting with colour, shape, line, texture and composition.
Some are more successful than others. That's completely fine.
In fact, I would argue that the less successful pieces are often just as valuable as the ones I like.
They tell me something.
Perhaps a particular colour combination doesn't work as I expected. Perhaps the composition feels too busy. Maybe a particular mark is interesting but needs more space around it. Perhaps I discover that I really like combining a loose wash with strong drawn lines.
Each little piece gives me information that I can carry into the next one.
Instead of seeing each study as an individual artwork that needs to succeed, I can see the whole collection as one experiment.
That shift in thinking can make a huge difference.
Your sketchbook is a place to explore
This is where your sketchbook becomes incredibly useful.
A sketchbook doesn't have to be a collection of beautiful drawings. It doesn't have to be something you would happily frame or show in an exhibition.
It can be messy.
It can contain scribbles, colour tests, failed ideas, notes, swatches, half-finished drawings and things that make absolutely no sense a week later!
It can also contain those little discoveries that eventually become the starting point for something much bigger.
I often encourage students to think of their sketchbook as a place to play.
You are not there to produce perfect results. You are there to explore.
Try dividing a page into several small sections and make a different study in each one. You could use the same subject but change the composition each time. Or use the same composition but experiment with different colours. Try paint in one, drawing in another, and a combination of materials in another.
The important thing is to give yourself permission to explore.
Look closely, then make it smaller
Working small can also change the way we look at the world.
When we are faced with a landscape, a garden or an interesting view, there is an enormous amount of information available to us. It can be difficult to decide what to include in a drawing or painting.
A simple viewfinder can help.
In my sketchbook, I have used a small homemade viewfinder to isolate little sections of the garden. Instead of trying to draw the entire scene, I can look for a smaller arrangement of shapes, colours and lines that catches my attention.
The four little studies in the sketchbook pages above are a good example of this.
Each one takes a small section of the surrounding landscape and turns it into its own little composition.
The result doesn't need to describe the whole garden. It only needs to capture something interesting about that particular view.
This is a really useful exercise because it encourages us to look at the relationships between shapes and colours rather than simply naming what we can see.
Instead of thinking, “I'm drawing a tree,” we might begin to notice:
Where does that dark shape sit against the lighter background?
What happens where the pink flowers meet the green foliage?
How much of the page does that particular shape need?
What can I leave out?
Suddenly, we are making compositional decisions rather than simply copying what is in front of us.
A little challenge for your sketchbook
Next time you are feeling stuck, or perhaps a little nervous about starting a new artwork, try working small.
Take a sheet of paper and cut or tear it into several smaller pieces, or use a page in your sketchbook.
Choose a subject and create four small studies.
Keep them quick and experimental.
Try changing:
the composition
the colours
the materials
the size and position of shapes
the amount of detail
the type of marks you make
what you include and what you leave out
Don't worry about making them beautiful.
Instead, look for possibilities.
Which one catches your attention?
Is there a particular colour combination you like?
Did you make a mark that you want to use again?
Did leaving something out make the image stronger?
Did one of your experiments surprise you?
Those little discoveries are often where the interesting things begin.
Not every experiment needs to work
This is probably one of the hardest parts of creative exploration.
We naturally want our experiments to succeed.
But if every experiment works, are we really experimenting?
Trying something new means that sometimes it won't behave as expected. The paint might spread too far. The colours might become muddy. A composition might feel awkward. A mark might look completely wrong.
Rather than immediately dismissing it, pause and ask yourself:
What have I learned?
Perhaps you have discovered what not to do next time.
Perhaps there is one tiny section that you actually like.
Perhaps the technique could work with a different subject.
Or perhaps it simply didn't work.
That's useful too.
The aim isn't to eliminate mistakes. It is to become more comfortable with them.
From small study to larger artwork
Small experiments can also become the beginnings of larger pieces.
You might discover an interesting colour combination in your sketchbook and use it in a larger painting.
A tiny composition might have exactly the balance you were looking for.
A particular mark might become part of your visual language.
A combination of materials might inspire an entirely new piece of work.
Sometimes the small study itself might be worth developing further. At other times, it may simply have done its job by helping you discover what comes next.
Think of your small studies as stepping stones.
You don't necessarily need to know where they are taking you.
Give yourself permission to play
Creative exploration doesn't always happen when we sit down with the intention of producing a finished artwork.
Sometimes it happens when we give ourselves a small piece of paper and no particular expectation.
Working small gives us permission to try things. It makes experimentation manageable and gives us the freedom to make decisions, change our minds and follow an idea simply because it interests us.
So next time you open your sketchbook, don't worry about filling the page with a perfect drawing.
Make a small mark.
Then another.
Try something different.
Make another little study.
You never know which tiny experiment might contain the seed of your next artwork.
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