Painting over old artwork does not have to be painful.

By Steve Green -

 

You work hard at creating art. A great deal of time is spent guessing, second guessing, observing and finally executing on your vision. Getting far enough into a project without abandoning the work is a noteworthy accomplishment. If you finish, celebrate.

 

I usually take a moment to admire the art I can complete. Then something happens a day or so afterwards. I take a closer look at it and my attitude changes. I go from excited to… bleh. This cycle happens often. The more I examine my work, the more I cannot unsee its flaws. The confidence in its beauty has faded. The piece I loved just a day ago I now hate.

 

If you can relate then you too probably would wonder what else could be done to make it better? Would one more stroke improve or make it worse? When questions like this start filling my mind, I find a corner in my studio and discreetly tuck the piece away. I bury it in a pile of other works that suffered the same fate.

 

Any artist reading this undoubtedly has been down this road. I always find myself pondering over these artworks never quite knowing what to do with them. The weird thing is the art you hate is usually the art people love.


I am always tempted to spread a fresh coat of white paint over these works. I have also thought this was extreme viewing it as erasing an important part of me. How could I destroy the evidence of my craft and record of existence? For years I have had visions of repurposing my canvases into something new. Yet every time I tried to repaint those old works a sense of guilt would overtake me.

 

After struggling with this issue my perspective shifted. I realized the benefits to reimagining those old works of art. My first thought was I could save money by not purchasing new canvases and paper. Second; who would know? Nobody has seen these works and if they did, they would not remember. Third, I would have an ambitious plan to keep me busy for a long time and an interesting series I could promote.

 

For now, I have overcome my biases and figured maybe these works were never finished. Perhaps those old paintings were as far as I could go until I could get to my next level of understanding. No matter the reason I am confident. New leaves spawn from old branches in the spring. And new inspiration can generate from thrown away art from the past.

 

Go to my youtube channel for more.

https://youtu.be/cFa2apO1yj8

 

Apostle Steve

Location: Newark, NJ, USA
Welcome to The Mind Your Newness Blog site. My name is Steve Green, an Apostle and Artist. I write about the creative process to help others transform their lives. I love to share ideas and practices that I have learned to help others find their unique and authentic creative voice.

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