A while back I went through my collection of paintings and picked out ones that I didn’t feel were quite finished, or had gotten to their true personality. Some of them I didn’t want to revisit and I donated them to the charity shop or else threw them out. And the ones I felt a connection to, however faint, I got to work in trying to pull more out of the picture. I will show you a small selection of three paintings that went through this process.
Here’s the original version.
I felt I had not gotten the depth of color I wanted and I thought the painting lacked any…drama?
Here it is after my work. I kept the basic structure but added more paint, and I also did a lot of work with my acrylic markers.
OK, now I’m happier. Mission accomplished!
Claudia McGill and Her Art World 
Nice revisit and completion of the piece.
Thank you. I was not feeling patient when I first painted it and setting it aside to wait for a while was a good thing, I think.
I agree that the revisited version throws more punch
It’s kind of wild, almost graffiti, but, that is what I felt like during the second go round. I’m happy with it, I feel at least now it is finished.
Thanks for sharing this. It’s a good reminder that we can go back and make changes. And being happy with our work is important.
Thank you. I never felt this one was finished but I was not interested in following up at the time I first painted it. Now I feel I have finished the job!
I actually ❤️ the original, it has a mystical tai chi feel to it.
I love both of them. They feel like different moods. The first is very soothing…the second feels more dramatic 💙💙.
Thank you. Yes, I agree, they are two different moods of the same scene. The first rendition just seemed a bit pallid to me and I couldn’t get satisfied. The second one, I was definitely in a different mindset when making it! I guess it shows how the same idea can be differently expressed depending on when and how and with what materials and also what state of mind the artist is in.
I agree, rework has more meaning.
Thank you. I always had the nagging feeling of something lacking in this painting and then one day I decided to try it again, I know I was in a whole different mood, or feeling, or just different energy to put into it. WHo knows what it might have become on yet another day? I think that is interesting to think about.
Maybe take a photo next time and print out and rework a few times after different moments of inspiration. Be an interesting way of finding new techniques.
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