Saturday, May 30, 2009

Sometimes Less is More



Sometimes less is more, especially in a painting like the one above.

Color: I used a muted palette and only two compatible colors to set the tone of this old "momma dog" looking forlornly at the viewer.

Subject Matter: The main objects in the painting are the dog and the doghouse...everything else is just background.

Space: When I first started painting, I thought I had to fill in every space on the paper...the sky, the grass, everything. However, leaving empty spaces sometimes keeps the eye on the most important part of the painting. More detail would simply be clutter and detract from the painting.

When painting, remember sometimes less is more!

2 comments:

Vicki and Skip said...

I love that painting. Probably my favorite. It inspires me to paint. Thanks for sharing.

Vicki and Skip

Anonymous said...

KAREN, I LIKE YOUR PAINTINGS AND DESCRIPTIONS THAT ARE HELPFUL TO BEGINNERS.
I LOVE TREES AND LEAVES. I HAVE ONE OF MOTHER'S BIBLES THAT HAS PRESSED LEAVES OF MANY YEARS AGO. sam