Small formats, big impact – on creating on a small scale
In recent weeks, I have moved away from my usual painting sizes and turned to small formats.
Normally, my works are created on larger canvases – with room for movement and for losing myself in the creative process. The small formats measure between 27 × 36 cm and 40 × 30 cm, barely larger than a sheet of paper. Limitation instead of expansiveness, and yet there is an astonishing freedom in this.
It is precisely this reduction that holds a special appeal.
The intimacy of smallness
A smaller work requires a different approach. I move closer, both physically and mentally, and everything happens in more concentrated moments. On a smaller painting surface, every gesture counts, every stroke has weight. It’s almost as if I enter into a silent dialogue with the canvas, more so than usual. Actually, nothing has to be big or loud to be meaningful. This closeness makes it easier for me to experiment, perhaps because the risk seems smaller. Perhaps because my mind becomes quieter and my intuition speaks more quickly.
Working on a small scale has become a kind of lightness training for me. A reminder of why I paint in the first place: out of joy, out of curiosity, out of the simple desire to create something.
Series – Repetition as Rhythm
Some of these small works were created as series. Not planned, but developed intuitively. The Silent Surface series, for example, in different color moods (Violet Green or Orange Blue), developed almost by itself.
The repetition of the same format, the variation of a color world: there is something musical about all of this. It is like continuing to play the same melody in new tones. I find that each repetition brings a different mood, a different accent, a different echo. In abstraction, of course, this is even more pronounced.
A work naturally also stands on its own. But together they breathe more calmly, respond to each other, tell a story in chorus.
Keeping creativity flowing
Working on small projects keeps me moving. While larger projects often require patience and planning, smaller ones arise spontaneously and are completed much more quickly. This makes them lively and immediate.
On days when I just want to paint without a goal or concept, these formats are like open windows. I can let myself drift, experiment, discover. And that’s good for both my head and my heart.
A brighter inner life
What fascinates me about these small works is the effect they have on me. They bring lightness back into the process. I don’t have to create something “big” to feel something real. Every small surface is enough to reconnect color, form, and emotion.
Basically, in my art, I try to work without pressure, without striving for perfection. With small works, however, it’s more like a playful exploration. This creates (new) space for joy, curiosity, and an open and lively approach to one’s own creativity.
Perhaps that is precisely the secret: the small size forces concentration for the sake of form alone, while at the same time giving inner freedom. Sometimes it is precisely in the small things that the greatest expansiveness arises.
A quiet continuation
Whether “Silent Surface,” “Oona,” or “Color Breathes Quietly”—each of these works carries some of this energy within it. They are calm, but not silent. Small, but not insignificant. Perhaps they are harbingers of larger works, perhaps they will simply remain what they are—small moments of pure creative joy.
Small formats with a big impact for me. Not because they show a lot, but because they remind us what art is really about: making. Being in the moment. And the joy of letting color and emotion dance together. I hope that this energy and creative joy can be transferred to the viewers and future owners.
The finished small works from the past few weeks are now in the catalog of works & portfolio and are being published.
