'Tis the Gift to be Simple

I've been asked to provide some thoughts about my work and what I am trying to achieve. That's a hard question to answer! One of my guiding principles is to try to simplify my subject matter in order to focus on the essential elements.

There's an old Protestant hymn that starts:

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be.

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

My Puritan ancestors would probably smile to see me quote the hymn, but it helps to explain my work. I feel that simplicity is a virtue in art. Much of art is, to my eyes, cluttered with non-essential elements that distract the viewer from the core, the essence, the heart of the work.

Of course, there is a fine line between simplifying to clarify and simplifying to the point of being banal and boring. I'm not sure I always achieve " the valley of love and delight," but, hey, it's good to have a goal, right?

I frequently work in black and white, for the same reason. Color can be a crutch, where the artist is saying, "Hey, look at all the cool colors!" without actually providing any content of interest. I do enjoy the interplay of colors, and some pieces absolutely depend on color to achieve an impact, but I frequently prefer the focus on line, shape, and form that the black and white format provides.

I also enjoy adding a bit of mystery to my work. If I take a photo of an ordinary object or scene and the viewer is not quite sure what it represents, that pleases me. There should be some mystery in life. It helps to reduce the hum drum that we all tend to fall into. This is one of the main reasons I work in abstract art, rather than representational art.