“There are so many benefits from working small!” says Tiffanie Mang. “I make all my students do it. Working small — 4 x 5 inches or even smaller — AND working with a big brush really forces you to simplify, which is the NUMBER 1 thing I tell my students to do. Since you cannot fiddle with detail, you are forced to rely on well designed shapes to form a cohesive painting. Readability and unity is the goal, not detail.
“It is also a great challenge to work small, and who doesn’t love a challenge? For plein air when you are on a time restraint, it can be very beneficial to jot down quick color notes on a small area. It is also good to throw your brain off course and challenge it with exercises it is not used to, because I guarantee that when you go back to painting bigger, you will discover new realizations and concepts to apply to your bigger paintings that you didn’t find before.”
Join Tiffanie Mang, Judd Mercer, Michele Usibelli, Scott Christensen, and other top gouache artists for the first ever Gouache Live — one day only on August 23, 2025!
Working small?, does that mean 11×14, 8×10, 5×7, 4×6, she doesn’t say
I found this page of hers, Tiffanie Mang: Fine Art, Illustrations, Oil Paintings, Plein Airs — https://tiffaniemang.com/mini-gouaches and the mini paintings are 2 inches by 2 inches in size.