Heard someone say "less detail is better" at a gallery opening and it got me thinking

I was at this small show downtown last Saturday, just browsing the digital prints, and I overheard this older artist telling a student that most beginners overwork their pieces by adding too much detail. At first I thought he was wrong because I always try to make every leaf and hair super sharp in my own work. But then I looked at the pieces on the wall and noticed the ones with soft, loose brushstrokes actually had more feeling behind them. I went home and tried applying that to a portrait I've been stuck on for weeks, just leaving some areas rough and unfinished. It felt wrong at first like I was being lazy but the final image came out way more alive than my usual overblended messes. Has anyone else had that moment where holding back actually made your art better?

2 comments

2 Comments

bell.emma9d ago

That "overworking" thing hit hard. Letting go made my best painting.

christopher5949d ago

Bell.emma is right about that letting go part. I redid a whole landscape painting three times because I kept adding tiny branches on trees and every single blade of grass. On the fourth try I just blocked in the big shapes with a palette knife and left the edges messy. That piece sold at a student show while my overworked ones just sat in my closet. There's something about letting the viewer's brain fill in the missing bits that makes the whole thing feel more interactive and alive.