Saturday, January 14, 2017

Little Red

Little Red
12x16, soft pastel

Painting 15 of 30:  Little Red is finished.  It's always a toss up to be detailed vs. painterly....my style is somewhere in between.   I like definition...but too much detail and too much precision leads to stiff unnatural paintings with less expression.  If I was painting photorealistic then I'd put much more detail in.  So it's a fine balance every artist has to decide for him or herself when to stop and "let it be".   

This particular scene reminds me of myself.  I'm pretty darn petite...ok, I'm downright SHORT at a whopping 5'0".  Pretty much everyone seems to tower over me.  So I can identify wih this little dingy sitting side by side tied to a manmouth ship.  We may both be small...but we're so dang cute...lol.  Of course the older we get, we get a little rough around the edges.

10 comments:

  1. An interesting composition but you nailed it! I like the story that you told to go with it Cindy and the comments about when to stop and 'let it be' - I have trouble with that sometimes. Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  2. So much detail in this pic! Love it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Steph...probably more detail than many would put into it...and not enough for others

      Delete
  3. Replies
    1. Thanks Sheila...the water is the toughest part for me 😬

      Delete
  4. It is such a fine line between too much and not enough and I'm not sure where I fall on it. I struggle trying to be more painterly and less precise. This is wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Sharon...I agree. I finally got to a point where I try to just "finish" it to the degree I think I like it...unless that dreaded "oh no, I just went too far" thought creeps into my conscience.

      Delete
  5. I agree with let it be, hard to know. Most times, good enough is good enough.

    ReplyDelete