An introduction to creating a series of drawings or paintings
Do you work in a series when you produce art? Do you want know more about working in a series? Find out about 12 reasons to work in a series. Explore links to information, images and resources about famous artists who produce work in a series.
The contents includes 12 reasons why artists might want to work in a series. These are listed below inbetween the other modules. It also includes a poll which asks you what is the MAIN reason why you want to work in a series.
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The contents includes 12 reasons why artists might want to work in a series. These are listed below inbetween the other modules. It also includes a poll which asks you what is the MAIN reason why you want to work in a series.
If you like this site please feel free to add a link to it on your website. You can also create a bookmark or link within various social network sites and/or e-mail this site to a friend who may find it interesting - see the right hand column
You can find out about.......
......click a link to go straight to that topic
- POLL: Why do you work in a series to produce visual art?
- Making A Mark Project - Working in Series
- Reason #1: Explore an object as subject
- Reason #2 - Explore an idea as concept
- Making A Mark - other posts about working in a series
- Reason #3 - Explore a story
- Reason #4 - Explore one motif
- Planning A Series
- Reason #5 - Explore colour
- Reason #6 - Explore design
- Famous Artists and major series paintings
- Reason #7 - Painting what you like best
- Reason #8 - Feed an obsession
- BOOKS: Monet's Series Paintings
- Major series paintings
- Reason #9 - Achieve artistic credentials
- Reason #10 - Develop an artistic identity
- Blogging about working in a series
- Reason #11 - Create an exhibition
- Reason #12 - Create a collectible
- Making A Mark
- Comments and Suggestions
- Who is Making A Mark?
POLL: Why do you work in a series to produce visual art?
Take a look at the explanations below this poll of the 12 different reasons why artists might work in a series to produce visual art.
Identify the MAIN reason - and then vote for the option which represents your main reason
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Making A Mark Project - Working in Series
- A Making A Mark Project - Working in a series
- This post starts my project about working in a series
- What are your reasons for working in a series?
- I've come to the conclusion there are probably four main categories of reasons why artists work in a series. Within each category there are more specific reasons.
* investigate and explore - subject
* investigate and explore - technique
* emotional response
* business motive - Making A Mark Poll: What's the main reason why you work in a series?
- The question is: What's your MAIN reason for working in a series?
With the emphasis being on the word MAIN. Having recognised there's lots of reasons why we work in series I want to try and pin it down a bit more and see if you can work out which is usually the dominant reason for you. - Why and how Monet developed his series paintings
- This post looks at:
* why Monet painted series paintings
* when he painted his series paintings
* the various reasons leading to his choice of subject matter
* which paintings are regarded as part of his series paintings
* and finally, how he actually designed and painted the series paintings from a practice perspective. - Monet's series paintings - stacks of wheat
- About the motif, design and execution of the series of paintings of stacks of wheat
- Monet's series paintings - Rouen cathedral
- An account of Monet's series paintings of Rouen Cathedral
Reason #1: Explore an object as subject
working in series to learn more about your subject
The subject is tangible and in front of you. Developing your knowledge of an object as subject might be about helping you to develop your artwork generally or it might be the reason behind the series you're developing.
Knowing how something works is one step nearer to knowing how it can be represented in a more shorthand way if you work in a more abstracted way.
Once you know your subject then it's possible to develop more imaginary treatments of the same subject. The range and size of your series is only limited by the limits of your subject.
Knowing how something works is one step nearer to knowing how it can be represented in a more shorthand way if you work in a more abstracted way.
Once you know your subject then it's possible to develop more imaginary treatments of the same subject. The range and size of your series is only limited by the limits of your subject.
Reason #2 - Explore an idea as concept
working in series to explore an idea
The subject is in your head, it's an idea and it may be philosophical and/or conceptual.
What the artist has to say may be represented in any number of different ways - detailed and realistic or abstract and metaphorical - but if the paintings are 'on message' then they all form part of a series. Having them all in the same style may help to convey the idea of a 'series'.
Developing a series based on a concept is akin to 'working through a problem' - and outcomes from developing a conceptual series can range from very positive and very negative.
What the artist has to say may be represented in any number of different ways - detailed and realistic or abstract and metaphorical - but if the paintings are 'on message' then they all form part of a series. Having them all in the same style may help to convey the idea of a 'series'.
Developing a series based on a concept is akin to 'working through a problem' - and outcomes from developing a conceptual series can range from very positive and very negative.
Making A Mark - other posts about working in a series
- Making a Mark: Whistler Month: Thames Views
- Whistler created very drawings, paintings and etchings which took the Thames as its subject matter - including the Thames set of etchings.
- Making a Mark: Whistler Month: Whistler's Venice
- Whistler produced about 50 etchings and around 100 pastels of Venice during a 14 month stay after he was declared bankrupt after the sensational libel trial against John Ruskin in London
- Making a Mark: Flowers in Art: Van Gogh #2 - Sunflowers and the value of repetition
- When I was younger it took me an awful long time to realise just how many sunflower paintings Van Gogh painted. This post is about that and the value of repetition.
Van Gogh painted a series of sunflowers. Initially four in Arles - two of which he hung in Gauguin's bedroom in the Yellow House in Arles and then subsequently another three which were copies.
Reason #3 - Explore a story
working in a series to tell a story
The subject is known to you and may be tangible but can be an imaginary story or a story which has to be visually imagined.
Well known ways of using a series of artworks to tell a story range from
* history paintings associated with a particular place, event or person
* portraits of an individual during their lifetime eg Velaquez's paintings of Philip II and his family
* visual depictions of the stations of the cross
* illustrations for a book or a comic
Well known ways of using a series of artworks to tell a story range from
* history paintings associated with a particular place, event or person
* portraits of an individual during their lifetime eg Velaquez's paintings of Philip II and his family
* visual depictions of the stations of the cross
* illustrations for a book or a comic
Reason #4 - Explore one motif
working in a series to explore an idea, pattern, image, or theme.
A motif is a repeated idea, pattern, image, or theme.
Repetition within an artwork and across a series of designs lends unity to the whole.
In exploring a motif, you identify all the different ways you can portray it. Single motifs are often associated with particular artists - while others can crop up in the work of a number of artists
* Paisley patterns are one example of a pattern repeated within a cloth and also repeated in cloths in many different colours.
* Islamic patterns often take one or two motifs and then repeats them throughout
* Architecture often has motifs associated with particular periods of building or particular types of building
* This is a list of visual motifs often used in patterns.
Repetition within an artwork and across a series of designs lends unity to the whole.
In exploring a motif, you identify all the different ways you can portray it. Single motifs are often associated with particular artists - while others can crop up in the work of a number of artists
* Paisley patterns are one example of a pattern repeated within a cloth and also repeated in cloths in many different colours.
* Islamic patterns often take one or two motifs and then repeats them throughout
* Architecture often has motifs associated with particular periods of building or particular types of building
* This is a list of visual motifs often used in patterns.
Planning A Series
- How to Plan a Series of Paintings for a Gallery Exhibit or Solo Show
- If you've never thought about creating a large series before, that's all right-any artist can learn. I'll admit that it might not be as fun as just sitting down and painting whatever comes to mind, but the outcome is more than worth it. Here's what you'll need to do.
Reason #5 - Explore colour
working in series to explore colour
In order to explore the impact of changes in light or colour you need to keep other variables (eg the subject matter) the same.
For example, Monet to explored the colour of light at different times of day. He painted the same subject over and over again - changing canvases as he worked through the day to the one appropriate for that time and that type of light.
Using a series approach you can also explore the impact on adjacent colour of combining colours in different ways. Josef Albers didn't paint squares - he painted different colours combinations which he always portrayed within squares.
You can also take one subject and explore different colour combinations in printmaking (eg Warhol's series of Marilyn Monroe)
For example, Monet to explored the colour of light at different times of day. He painted the same subject over and over again - changing canvases as he worked through the day to the one appropriate for that time and that type of light.
Using a series approach you can also explore the impact on adjacent colour of combining colours in different ways. Josef Albers didn't paint squares - he painted different colours combinations which he always portrayed within squares.
You can also take one subject and explore different colour combinations in printmaking (eg Warhol's series of Marilyn Monroe)
Reason #6 - Explore design
working in series to explore design possibilities
Using a series approach you can explore the impact of change on a composition or design by
* arranging different multiples of the same objects in different sizes and position
* using different values for the same design of shapes and lines.
Exploring the impact of different arrangements of values relating to one subject can be a technique which is adopted prior to starting any painting rather than an end in itself. For example, developing several thumbnails of different value patterns for the arrangement of big shapes within the subject matter. See Composition - why tonal values and contrast are important.
* arranging different multiples of the same objects in different sizes and position
* using different values for the same design of shapes and lines.
Exploring the impact of different arrangements of values relating to one subject can be a technique which is adopted prior to starting any painting rather than an end in itself. For example, developing several thumbnails of different value patterns for the arrangement of big shapes within the subject matter. See Composition - why tonal values and contrast are important.
BOOKS - Whistler's Venice
Whistler's Venice (Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in Britis)
Planning only a brief stay in Venice in 1879, Whistler found himself enchanted by the city's beauty and remained for more than a year. This lovely book is the first to follow Whistler's progress throughout Venice as he produced fifty etchings, a few oils, and a remarkable group of one hundred pastels. Alongside each of his evocative portraits of the city are photographs of the actual site.
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Famous Artists and major series paintings
- Van Gogh's Sunflowers
- The Vincent van Gogh Gallery - Van Gogh's sunflowers
- NGA - Claude Monet
- Tour: Claude Monet: The Series Paintings
Monet began to explore the same subject repeatedly in what are known today as his "series" paintings: grainstacks, poplar trees, Rouen cathedral, and other subjects, some near his home, others in England, Norway, and Italy. Finally, in the last decades of his life, Monet settled in to devote his entire attention to the lily pond he constructed in his garden at Giverny. - Tate Britain | Turner Whistler Monet | Room 4
- Room 4: Painting in Series - On one wall of this room is a series of paintings of the Seine that Monet produced in the 1890s. They focus on light effects at different times of the morning, emphasising transient aspects of nature.
- Monet series displayed as intended at MFA - The Tech
- An article from the Tuesday, March 6, 1990 issue of The Tech - MIT's oldest and largest newspaper and the first newspaper published on the Internet.
A review of Monet in the 90's at the MFA in Boston - Art of Monet Online Resource
- A comprehensive resource cataloguing 500 Monet paintings, how they're linked, where they're held
Includes profiles of different series and themes - American Artist - En Plein Air: Kevin Macpherson's Reflections on a Pond
- REFLECTIONS ON A POND: AN EXPLORATORY SERIES ON LIGHT & ATMOSPHERE
by Allison Malafronte
Reason #7 - Painting what you like best
working in series because of a strong emotional attachment to the subject matter
I think that to be able to get out of bed day after day and paint, one needs to have a feeling for a subject. It's really great if the subject continuously feeds your emotions and makes you feel good. Plus you never get bored with a subject if you always paint what you like best.
Painting what you like best can then provide a jolly good reason for painting - period! There is only one difficulty - deciding what you like best!
Painting what you like best can then provide a jolly good reason for painting - period! There is only one difficulty - deciding what you like best!
Reason #8 - Feed an obsession
an emotional reason for working in series
An obsession is a persistent or dominating thought, idea, or feeling.
Some artists have to paint about the specific thoughts, ideas and/or emotions which absorb them - and associated subject matter. This can be obsessive. This is largely an obsessive emotional response if they find themselves unable to paint anything else.
Whether they are good or bad obsessions rather depends on why they started in the first place.
Some artists have to paint about the specific thoughts, ideas and/or emotions which absorb them - and associated subject matter. This can be obsessive. This is largely an obsessive emotional response if they find themselves unable to paint anything else.
Whether they are good or bad obsessions rather depends on why they started in the first place.
BOOKS: Monet's Series Paintings
Monet in the '90s: The Series Paintings
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Major series paintings
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Monet's Series Paintings - Stacks of Wheat
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Monet's first set of paintings completed as a series were devoted to stacks of wheat in the field next to his home at Giverny. Find out more about Monet's grain stacks series (sometimes called haystacks) - including links to where you can see them in...
Reason #9 - Achieve artistic credentials
working in series to acquire an artistic status
Working on a series can enable some artists to achieve a status which has value to them as artists and in terms of marketing their work.
For example, the RHS only awards Gold Medals to Botanical Artists who develop a series of paintings about a specific species or collection
For example, the RHS only awards Gold Medals to Botanical Artists who develop a series of paintings about a specific species or collection
Reason #10 - Develop an artistic identity
working in series to develop your art career and business
Artists can work in series to help make their work a more marketable commodity and/or create a reason for people to buy and then collect an artist's work. These reasons might be subsidiary to the reason why an artist creates the work but they can also be a legitimate part of the business life of any artist.
It's much easier for an artist to 'sell' themselves to a gallery or a client if the artist knows what their work is about and that work has coherence in both subject matter and style - it has an identity.
It then becomes much easier for galleries to describe an artist's work and market it to clients who have a defined interest in that sort of work.
It's much easier for an artist to 'sell' themselves to a gallery or a client if the artist knows what their work is about and that work has coherence in both subject matter and style - it has an identity.
It then becomes much easier for galleries to describe an artist's work and market it to clients who have a defined interest in that sort of work.
Blogging about working in a series
- Exploring the Surface: Working in a Series: More Thoughts
- There's a lot to think about when we begin to develop a framework for the investigation and exploration that goes into a series.
- Famous Paintings Famous Artists -- Famous Haystacks Series Paintings of Monet
- A gallery of famous paintings by famous artists to inspire you and to help you expand your knowledge of great paintings, such as Monet's haystacks series paintings.
Reason #11 - Create an exhibition
working in series for an exhibition
Exhibitions which have a big impact are ones which have themes for the work displayed.
Works which are linked often work extremely well together when displayed. Combining paintings from a series in one exhibition often creates a very powerful visual impact.
Works which are linked often work extremely well together when displayed. Combining paintings from a series in one exhibition often creates a very powerful visual impact.
Reason #12 - Create a collectible
working in series to help collectors buy your work
People like collecting art and a good reason for creating a series is it makes it easier for people to collect your art.
If people like the subject and the way the artist treats it then they may seek to make repeated purchases of anything they produce.
There is a downside. Artists often cannot afford to stop producing such paintings - even if they now hate the subject matter - because of the financial benefits attached.
A tip from a professional artist who works in a series - NEVER EVER start painting a series about a subject which does not not absorb you! If it becomes popular, linked to your name and financially worthwhile you might have to paint the subject for a very long time to come!
If people like the subject and the way the artist treats it then they may seek to make repeated purchases of anything they produce.
There is a downside. Artists often cannot afford to stop producing such paintings - even if they now hate the subject matter - because of the financial benefits attached.
A tip from a professional artist who works in a series - NEVER EVER start painting a series about a subject which does not not absorb you! If it becomes popular, linked to your name and financially worthwhile you might have to paint the subject for a very long time to come!
Making A Mark
Katherine Tyrrell's blogging portfolio about: - Making a mark creating drawings with pastels, pencils and pen and ink - Art projects - Notable Artists - Developing art careers - Art blogs and blogging about art - Reviews of art books and exhibitions - Inf
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Who is Making A Mark?
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Who is Making A Mark?
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I'm an artist with a very wide range of interests who enjoys learning about art, making art and sharing information about art. I've combined all my information sites with sections of my other websites and blogs to highlight my main interests and acti...
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I'm an artist, author and member of the Giants 100 Club who enjoys sharing information about art. Find out more about me in Who is Making A Mark?" or... (more)
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