Simplicity vs Complexity

In this piece, Summer Sun, the intention was to keep the piece simple, sparse of detail, and focused on the light, shadows, and the object casting the shadows. As many things in the scene were edited out, it was the remaining elements that proved to be a bit more complex to render than I had anticipated. Shadows, the texture of leaves, the balance of warm and cool colors, all offered challenges, requiring continued editing to keep the intended simplicity.

While painting the piece, I felt the need to Google around a bit to see what others had to say about the process of achieving simplicity in something…and if they, too, found that process to be complex. Apple’s Steve Jobs summed it up perfectly: ” Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.”