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Take simplicity to extremes
Just how simple can an art image get? Here's an example of how I sometimes reduce a painting to the absolute minimum in order to focus on what lies at the heart of a composition
Here's a small sketch in pen and neocolour pastel I did on location at Ransome's Dock near Blackfriars Bridge in London. It took maybe five minutes:
But I wanted to get simpler than that. I know I had a strong composition, but maybe simple colour could make it even simpler and stronger. So I did this on aluminium sheet using just a few oil pastels, at about the same size, 3"x3".
The thing about working so small and with chubby little oil pastels is that it forces you to be very graphic and very simple. Suprprisingly helpful when you are trying to decide exactly what it is that makes a picture:
