The Need to Simplify or Abstract Art

Marble Quarry Pastel Landscape by Paul Creedon.

As a pastel artist I find that the most formidable challenge in the visual arts is the need to simplify (or abstract) the appearance of the object I intend to paint with my pastels or draw with sanguine chalks. My artist's instincts seem to resist the idea of leaving out some of what I see when I compose a new still life or create a landscape. But given my years of experience and training I know that I must in order to arrive at a better picture.

And it will be a better picture. That is because a lot of extraneous stuff will be left out that would only confuse the viewer and art lover. Even if they are someone who is used to looking at fine art. Knowing what to leave out also helps to convey the one major thought that I want a person to see and come away with. Perhaps it's the roundness of a fruit in a pastel still life or the light coming through the trees in a landscape drawing.  Either way I know the picture is enhanced when there are fewer distractions.

To see more of my pastel art and to make a purchase contact Patricia Creedon at 

pmcreedon@optonline.net.

Ways to Fix a Problem.

Squinting must be one of humanity’s greatest inventions. When I am at a loss about what to do with an unusually obdurate painting, I look at it and squint. Once my headache clears up, I’ve gotten a start on what needs to be simplified or changed.

Maybe this works for me because I give my brain a nice problem: what has to be edited out of a scene so that enough of it remains for the mind to make sense of it? Theoretically the optic nerve is impartial, so I can depend on its decisions.

Another recommended method of determining what’s wrong with a piece that just isn’t cooperating, is to look at it upside down. Frankly this one has never worked that well for me. Still, if some line I’ve convinced myself is ramrod straight just happens not to be so straight, the upside down trick will usually deliver the bad news.

Supposedly, one of the premier challenges for the artist is to know when to stop working on his piece of art. I generally stop when I’m sick of the thing.