Winter Rooftops

Winter Rooftops - oil on canvas - 16 x 20"

Winter Rooftops came about from a photo I took about 4 years ago from my window in a room at the Four Points Sheridan.  The scene certainly didn't look like this, the photo showed a drab winters evening, but I knew I could use the perspective as a springboard and create the atmosphere in my own way.
This one took more time to dry than usual with  thicker paint on it, but it was kind of juicy working on it!  
I often admire texture and thick paint in other artist's work, and it is something that I would like to get in my own work, but it's a slow process getting there, especially when I'm a painter who's natural inclination is to blend a lot.  BUT, it is a goal of mine to incorporate more texture.  It's funny,  I feel like there has to be a purpose for texture in my own work, like it cant just be slapped on willy nilly;  texture always grabs the eye, so I feel it works best in focal areas. 
AND may I say this...it is ALWAYS easier to get texture and interesting brush strokes when painting 'daily paintings' that are usually no bigger than 9 x 12.  That is because one sweep of the hand with an average sized brush can carry a thick gob of different toned paint which allows interesting passages and transitions.  The success of the whole daily painting movement kind of proves this, and I've always been pleased with the textural brushwork in my own small paintings.
It IS more difficult to get a similar loose textural result on large paintings. The tools incorporated for producing larger paintings to create similar effects are large palette knives, big brushes, giant spatula's...whatever one can creatively think of in application is AOK.  More than one palette might be necessary, many artists who work large have several.  Having a large space in which to paint is a must too...one needs to be able to move around the work and stand back from it often to take in the progress of it.  This is also NOT the time to be stingy with paint.  Have lots of tubes on hand.  Heaps of paint must be at the ready to be squeezed out of the tube frequently, because one goes through a LOT of paint when painting this way.
Recently I was in Vermont, I had the opportunity to pop into a gallery where I admired some gorgeous large contemporary landscapes by an artist(Craig Mooney) who obviously worked with huge brushes... they had the magic that small paintings do, and I was very inspired.  
This winter I'm making a push to create larger works (for me) more often, and getting a little more textural in the process would be very satisfying too.