Part 7 Simplification
Most people will think if I’m going to simplify, it’s going to make things easier; there lies the misperception. The best way to explain my point of view is if a person writes a 500-page novel and then that person tries to condense that information into a short story—e.g. 50 pages long—that’s why we must make every word count. I’ve found that there’s a tendency to think the more detail the artist puts in, the better. What normally happens is the painting will look overworked and in fact we will diminish the power of the visual image.
That’s why I like to find three definite focal points and make sure that nothing will overpower these crucial points. One of my secrets is to study the shapes and identify places that I can maximise the tonal contrast and the sharpest of edges. I resist the temptation to tone things down, as this will only be allowing my painting to become weaker. I place my sharpest edge and cleanest edge, on the site of my primary focal point.
If we’re going to simplify, we must make every brush mark count, this is when accuracy matters. My mantra is to “Maximise to Minimise.” What this means is I’m aiming to put down the minimum amount visual information but get the maximum impact. I believe we can take a complex scene and if we give it the right treatment, we’ll have a painting that reads well, excites the eye and intrigues the viewer.