Less than a week to go in the month, and then I will probably go back to painting larger pieces. So what do I want to create in these last few days? I decided I need to push myself a little more – to make images that are unexpected, not my usual creations. One way I can do that is by exploring landscape more, since I usually stay away from it. So here’s one of my little creations from today. I think I like it, but I’m not sure. I’ll see how I feel about it in a couple days (or months).
This one was mostly done with a palette knife, on a canvas that had an old, failed painting on it. I love painting over old paintings. I wait a long time to do it, usually a year or more, in order to make sure the underlying oil paint is completely dry first (old acrylic paintings, on the other hand, can be painted over immediately, in either acrylic or oil). It’s good to have such a long time to wait, too, because it keeps me from making rash decisions about which paintings are worth keeping. Over the years I’ve sold some paintings that, had they stayed with me, would have definitely gotten scrapped.
Part of why I love re-painting canvases is because it feels good to be re-using them. I hate clutter (which is incongruous with being a painter, let me tell you), so I prefer to keep my stock of paintings at a minimum. If I can re-use a canvas I already have, rather than purchasing a new one, then all the better.
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It’s Art Every Day Month! Towards the end of the month, these new daily paintings will be available to purchase in my Etsy shop. Check out Leah’s blog for more information about Art Every Day Month, or follow the discussion on Twitter with the #aedm2014 hashtag.
I couldn’t agree with you more about recycling old paintings! If they are done on watercolor paper or canvas paper, I have even sliced and diced them and reconfigured them into abstract collages!
Good idea! I should sort through my old works on paper and see which ones would make for good collage fodder.