How Much Detail?

There are many people who still believe that to create great art you need to replicate real life as precisely as possible, but in a world where everyone carries a camera with them at all times, is this really necessary?

Art is first and foremost, an expression of feeling rather than accuracy. The two images above which I created recently are great examples of this. The first is extremely detailed and accurate and took around six hours to paint, where the one below (of my beloved cat Martin) is scruffy, inaccurate and took around twenty minutes to create. So which is better?

The simple answer is that neither is better. Some will love one and some will love the other. Being more detailed doesn't make the first one any better, just different, and this is reflected in both appeal and skill. It takes the same amount of time and practise to be good at painting something roughly and it does something accurate, sometimes more. Even the price (if they were to be sold) would be similar for both.

The best advice I can give is to go with the feel of the painting rather than the accuracy. If it feels right then maybe it doesn't need more detail. Stick to how you like to create.