Adirondack, Apple, and Abridgment

Just like a good story teller, a painter wants to tell a story too. She saw a certain something that moved her and she wants to share that with the viewer. A superb story teller captures you with the first sentence. Each word and pause counts. Talk too long or say too much and the story is spoiled. It’s very similar with painting; tell your story with a limited number of strokes. The example is this painting of the Adirondack chair, an apple and a mug. Abridge the elements so it says enough without telling too much. No need to show every part of the chair to know it’s an Adirondack chair. No need to show every blade of grass or the title of the book. The viewer is perfectly capable of filling in any blanks. Abridge, condense, and shorten. All words for good storytelling and good painting.  http://www.joanneshellan.com/