The Magic of Working in a Series

My art making process has changed dramatically since going through CVP earlier this year. Whereas I used to work on one or possibly two paintings at a time, I now work on an entire series. The last one was 15 paintings in a range of sizes (seen below stacked in my hallway!) I am now embarking on another that will probably be 12-14 paintings in total.I learned so much during that course that it's hard to choose the single most important thing, but if I had to pick, I'd say this is it. There are just SO many benefitsYou can't fiddle for too longBecause there are so many paintings on the go at once, you don't get bogged down on one. If you get stuck, you just move onto another painting.You feel more free to try new thingsIt's not like you're going to ruin the only painting you have on the go. You have lots of others, so you feel more willing to tale risks. And risks are where all the good stuff comes from.You get ideas from one and use them on othersWhen you take risks, you make discoveries - perhaps you hit on a new colour combination that works perfectly. Or you find a new way to apply marks. Or you scratch into wet paint and decide it felt so good that you want to do the same on other paintings.You produce more workThe combination of less time to fiddle and the ability to apply one idea to multiple paintings means that you just get more done.The work looks more cohesiveEven if you use different colours and marks, the work will hang together because you made it all at the same time. If you make 12 paintings over the course of a year, the one you made in January will feel very different to the one you made in December. After all, 11 months have passed and you're a different artist now. But by working in a series, you naturally create a cohesive body of work that you can hang at a show or at fair, or present to a gallery.It's fun!The most important thing of all - because you're not getting bogged down, and because you're able to take more risks, you have fun. Which means you want to be in your studio more often. Which means you get more stuff done.Starting my New SeriesI now start every painting the same way - I have no plan, and no intention other than to play with paint and see what happens. Sometimes the first layers that I apply will suggest a direction for the painting and I can then follow that direction. But often this doesn't happen and I have to keep applying layers of paint until something shifts and the painting starts to point the way.The two most important things for me  are a) to play freely without judgment and b) to let this process evolve. If I start to impose a direction too early, the paintings lose their way. Just as in life, the harder you try to control things, the worse they get.This little speeded-up video shows how I apply those first few layers.https://youtu.be/8js9a5NTWusAnd here's where the series stands currently.I have six paintings on the go and six that I have yet to start. I plan to spend some time developing these six before starting the next ones. That way I get to alternate between freeform play and more careful considered work. It's the switching between the two that keeps things fresh and interesting for me.Wish me luck!