Tiny is intimate and gargantuan is imposing and emotionally dominating. So size does matter for an Archibald winner because size impacts the viewer and more importantly the judges.
3.5 metres is the average winning size of recent years although there has been a 6 metre giant.
But the real reason size matters in the first instances is to be noticed. Imagine a room with 900 hundred paintings of various sizes and shapes, dominated by standard portrait, landscapes and the occasional square. What would draw your attention?Dirt is a sprung escapee on a white wall but unnoticed on a mahogany wall. For the same reason size and shape matters because of its context.
Suggestions? A circle? An elongated portrait or landscape (think 30cm high and 2 metres wide or the reverse)? Or five square cm.
Just to twist the already winding road further, what material should I paint on? Canvas is the staid and predictable choice but also think hardboard, paper or even balsa wood.
Just remember we don’t want to be noticed but dismissed as eccentric or pretentious. Its a delicate touch!
Next is how to beat the heavyweight giants of the Australian art world...