I recently saw a minimal line drawing that I really liked from illustrator Greg Betza's on Instagram. When I asked him what the secret was to creating engaging and intriguing minimal line drawings his response was incredible. He shared, someone once told him that editing is not what you exclude but what you include. Draw what is essential to the story you're telling and it will be just right.
“Editing is not what you exclude but what you include. Draw what is essential to the story you’re telling and it will be just right.”
I think this is why I struggle with drawing large crowds in Urban Sketching scenarios, or filtering out trees from the forrest in the few times I attempted Plein Air painting. I find it difficult to editing out information. It's easy to get overwhelmed with all the visual stimuli that is before my eyes. And I'm not thinking about a story. I'm thinking about visual information.
Perhaps that's why a lot of my work has one central figure. I don't enjoy an overload of detail. I work fast and loose, not slow and steady. But I do like the idea behind WHY I choose to capture the visual information. The story I want to tell. Because we all are telling a story, whether we know what it is or not. We might as well tell the best one we can.
What is some of the best storytelling art you've seen?