Thursday, October 02, 2008

art and adverbs

I was just thinking about art and adverbs! Weird? Not too.

I read someone's critique about how she may or may not want to use a certain adverb.

Well, of course, adverbs are a legitimate part of the tools of our trade. But, granted, we must be careful not to overuse them.

Same as in art. An artist has tools, and can't just attack a canvas creatively without an awareness of how to mix paints. Certain shades of red and green may be dazzling side-by-side, but if they overlap and become mixed, they can become a muddy brown or gray. We have to know a little about what we're doing if we're going to be satisfied with the result.

But I can't see rejecting a certain tool like an adverb because of overuse.

I can't imagine never painting with a certain color.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Red. No orange. Or maybe purple. Deep, deep purple. Plum purple.

Margo Carmichael said...

LOL, Okay. I didn't like purple, either, until I lived in Arizona by those mountains. There, I had a lavender and mint bedroom, and purple towels in the hall bath....

Margo Carmichael said...

...with, okay, truth be told, terra cotta hand towels and green washcloths and all of the above in the shower curtain. Never would have imagined doing that. LOL