The real answer is practically -never. I've redone paintings that were done as long as 10 years ago. Ones that I just wasn't happy with. Overpainting is one technique that I've only done once - where you paint over a painting with an entirely different idea. Some artists burn the ones they don't like, some paint over them. I hate to be wasteful, but the feng shui just isn't right for me knowing there's something else underneath.
I just sold a piece. It was to be picked up a few days ago, but wasn't. In the mean time I was looking at it, and ended up touching up a few things. I figure the longer an artist looks at something, the more critical we are of ourselves. We have to decide when to quit though. I've touched things up and ruined them... but that was a long time ago. I think I'm getting better with each piece... at least that's my opinion. I let that piece go today, and I believe it was at its best.
2 comments:
Anda, A friend an I just had the conversation about when work was done, but it is difficult to know when to stop.... On my blog I posted a couple of pictures before and after. I have a large acrylic painting (an abstract) that I want to return to because I think it needs more texture - but I'm afraid I'll ruin it.
Go for it. It's only paint!
Post a Comment