Do you detail things so much that you start to lose the poetry side of your art? I see painters sometimes take a tree, for example, and put every single leaf on that tree. Why? We know it’s a tree! You don’t need to explain that it’s a tree. What you really want to capture is the character of the tree. Get the general shape and a little detail; we will know it’s a tree by its shape alone. We know a figure by its shape.

I say this jokingly, but I often tell my students that you are almost insulting the viewer with too much detail! They know what it is. What is most important to focus on is shape, value, colors, and the things that make it poetic. I try to go for what I feel and put that on the canvas rather than make it an illustration. Illustrating is fine, but that is not what a fine artist does. We want to show the poetic side to our viewers.

If you are new to painting or art in general, I understand why you want to detail everything. It‘s a natural process for us. I also did this in the beginning. We often don’t have enough guidance in the beginning of our journey. But, I am here to guide and tell you: get the general shape, value, and color down. The detail is the last thing to worry about, like the cherry on top. Don’t put the cherries everywhere. Generally, you do not want detail everywhere because you are not saying anything to the viewer when it looks like you are shouting.

It is something you may have to struggle your way through. It is not an easy process to teach yourself. You are looking to get past the point of over-detailing to not detailing. The brain, by nature, wants to detail everything, so we need to be fully aware of this as we begin to paint. In your next painting, start with the general shape, values, and colors and leave a little mystery for the viewer’s imagination. Like a book or a movie, we don’t need to tell the viewer everything. There should be a sense of mystery in a good painting.

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