Part 7—Feeling Like Goldilocks: Finding the "Just Right" Size

This week Barnyard Adventures taught me an important lesson: sometimes getting the size "just right" takes a little trial and error, I definitely felt like Goldilocks!

Using my reference photos, I drew the barn, silo, horse barn, windmill, and tractor. Rather than drawing everything directly on my final artwork, I first sketch each subject on its own sheet of vellum paper. Since vellum is transparent, I can easily move pieces around the composition, resize them, or replace them without having to redraw everything from scratch.

For buildings and anything requiring accurate perspective, I first draw them for my 12" x 18" working sketch. At that size, it's much easier to line everything up with the Horizon Line and make sure the perspective looks correct. Once I'm happy with the drawing, I use my photocopier to enlarge it for the final 24" x 36" painting.

That's where the Goldilocks story begins!

My first enlargement was too big. The next one was too small. After a few adjustments, I finally found the size that was just right. Looking at the photo, you can see all three versions of the barn as I compared them before choosing the winner.

It's a simple step that most people never see, but taking the time to get the proportions right now will make the finished painting much stronger. Every adjustment brings Barnyard Adventures one step closer to becoming the scene I've imagined from the very beginning.