Grow as a Painter - Paint Over Your Painting

Before

After

Who wants to paint over a finished painting? Why would you do it? After all, you've committed precious time, some expense, and perhaps your blood, sweat, and tears as well.

By painting over your painting I mean improving on what you have already painted, not painting a completely new painting.

You should paint over your painting whenever you know you have grown as a painter and you realize how much better your painting can become.

Caveat--this is only recommended with acrylics and not oil, watercolor, or pastel without due consideration since those mediums do not lend themselves to over-painting as easily as acrylics.

Anyway, here's the scenario. You're straightening up (or whatever) your studio and you run across an old painting you did way-back-when. You now see it with a more objective and much better informed eye.

"Why did I paint it like that?"

Good news and redemption. Since then, you have put in more hours painting. Since then you've read and watched more instructive how-to's. Since then you have been to more museums, galleries, art shows and exhibits.

In short, you have grown as a painter, and you can improve upon it, and as painters, we all want to improve.

Today images are my before and after paintings.

Today's Image on OrbisPlanis

The Corridor
Acrylic on Canvas Panel
11 x 14 in/27.9 x 35.6 cm
Copyright 2014

Today's image is somewhat of a departure from my recent paintings. Instead of a natural landscape or seascape, it's almost an interior shot, although there is a view to the outside at the end of this corridor.

It was painted from a personal reference photo that was so striking that I felt compelled to paint it.

I decided to paint it in acrylic, mainly because of the many layers needed to give the illusion of receding light and shadow. One of the great attributes of acrylic paint--to dry quickly--allowed me to complete the painting, and to repaint as necessary, over a couple of afternoons.

My favorite part was painting the bright, outdoor light outside the arched entryway. The visible structure and the distant mountain provide depth and atmospheric perspective.

I hope you like it.

Pintura al Oleo

Marina de Espana - al Oleo
Oil on Canvas Panel
8 x 10 in/20.3 x 25.4 cm
Copyright 2014

Well, I'm sure you've been waiting all week.

If you recall, in the last blog I talked about a perceived bias for oil over acrylic painting. I decided that my goal of painting with acrylic so that it looked like an oil painting might better be: to paint with oil so that it looked like an acrylic painting.

So that's what I did, and today's image is the same motif from last week, which was painted in acrylic, only this one was done in oil.

Can you tell the difference? Do you like one better than the other? Does anyone actually care?

An Oil Painting that Looks Like an Acrylic?

Marina de Espana
Acrylic on Canvas
11 x 14 in/27.9 x 35.6 cm
Copyright 2013

I think goals are a good thing to have, although I don't have too many in painting, and I don't have a bucket list either.

One of my goals has been to paint in acrylic so that it looks like an oil painting. I won't say that I have achieved it, but I am closer, in my humble opinion.

Then I got to thinking. Why do I care, and why is it a goal? Good questions both.

As I recall, several years back it seemed to me there was a bias for oil painting. Acrylics were treated somewhat like the second-cousin who was invited to the party only because he was family and not because anyone particularly liked him.

That doesn't seem to be quite so obvious today. I see more (and more) acrylic paintings and painters featured in magazine articles and on the art-discussion websites. I think that's excellent and about time.

But back to why do I care. I gave it a role-reversal and decided to think of it this way: One of my goals is to paint in oil so that it looks like an acrylic painting. How about that?

Today's image is a painting I painted in acrylic. To see how I'm doing, in the next blog I'll post the same painting I did in oil, so check back.