Network of Communication - SOLD
15" x 30" mixed media
framed
Time has a way of providing fresh eyes and insight into what has gone before.
For paintings, you do what you think is good work at the time, but it could be weeks or years later when your revisit a piece, you know you can do better. There may be lessons learned, techniques honed and more experienced hands and eyes to influence and enhance the past.
As artists we have the ability to use that experience and time to look again at a painting and see how it can be improved. It is what I have done with this piece.
On my learning curve back to colour and painting, I was a bit timid with colour, but now I use it to my advantage. I took a rather subdued jellyfish and turned it into the star of the ocean.
This is the original piece. I'm almost embarassed to show it now, as it looks so insipid in comparison to its makeover version. But, at the time, it worked for me and it does have many good points.
The original was done in mixed media on a 15" x 30" panel and was custom framed. But it lacked pazazz. I grabbed a palette knife and oil paints and pushed colour and contrast and layers to give it impact. I have some fluorescent oil paints that are amazing. Not for the fluorescence,which I have not seen under a black light, but for their intensity of colour. I wish a camera and computer screen could show the vividness of the yellow, orange and red touches in this painting of this paint. No, it won't glow in the dark under regular lighting, but it will have impact in a room.
Don't hesitate to revisit an old painting and analyse it truthfully. I believe we see through somewhat blinkered vision at our own work and need time and/or other eyes to see it, warts and all. Armed with that knowledge we need to have the courage to just do it and see what the end result is. Good or bad. In this case, I think its good.
3 comments:
this is good advice that I need to follow more myself. its a good way to show artistic growth and new learned techniques
such a wonderful burst of colours to the new version :)
I think the piece would just sit there on my wall forever with me not being pleased with it and no hope of a sale without its makeover.
I love the hot colours in the newer version and it real life it really has presence.
I agree with you, Jeannette. I have few paintings which are truly finished in my eyes now - although they were "good" when I did them in the past! Our eyes, our skill, changes and we get better at seeing and making corrections or adding that extra something...for a watercolor artist, there is a point of overworking where you just have to start anew but mixed media can be worked and changed and made better any time. I like the colorful one!
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