Artists

Fred Craig

Paucity is one of the great principles in art. An internet friend and painter, Robert Genn, recently called my attention to the word paucity and I use some of his actual words freely in the following. An artistic definition of this word would be: paucity --the "absence of," --a smallness of number or quantity (of strokes, of details), and the wisdom of knowing when to stop. The image is not contrived in its entirety but is born in "emergence" on the support itself. In our struggle to say things right, we overlook the value of understatement. "The secret of being a bore," said Voltaire, "is to tell everything." Paucity invites both the artist and the viewer not to be bored. While paucity appears to be a natural phenomenon that comes about as the result of talent, it's actually the result of giving things a little thought before brushing. The idea is to think of a simpler, fresher and more effective look. You need to know that understated vision is both more appealing to make and more engaging to evolved eyes. Paucity, while often appearing rough and unfinished, invites participation in the creative process, and paucity helps us see the poetic potential of visual art. While paucity appears to be a natural phenomenon that comes about as the result of talent, it's actually the result of giving things a little thought before brushing. The idea is to think of a simpler, fresher and more effective look. One needs to know that understated vision is both more appealing to make and more engaging to evolved eyes. Paucity, while often appearing rough and unfinished, invites participation in the creative process, and paucity helps us see the poetic potential of visual art.

I am not interested in creating photo-like duplication of persons, objects or places. I work to portray the internal emotional responses that I feel toward the subject. Sometimes the image is more abstract, sometimes more representational. At the same time that I am developing an image, I am crafting an "object". The crafted "object" is the actual canvas or panel on which a surface is developed with carefully mixed and placed paint colors. I love the world of brush strokes, palette knife applications and scrapings, opaque layers and transparencies. I delight in the physical aspect of painting and strive for a painting surface that is satisfying and complements the imagery. My work has been described by a recent juror as "painterly", which I regard as a high compliment.