Simplifying Your Painting

Pablo Picasso once stated; "It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.
For me the challenge is to make my paintings simple and direct. The design of the painting is really the back bone of the painting and when you are able to think in abstract terms your painting is simplified.

I started this Key West street scene with abstract shapes. My design was simple and I made very few color choices in the beginning, but kept a sense of purer color, in order to not make mud.

I find by having a simple organized start, and a good design the painting paints itself. I keep working these simple color notes until I have accomplished my goal of expressing the light falling on this street on this particular morning.