Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Using critique to improve a painting


I took this large painting to critique yesterday. I hadn't seen the painting in several months, and as soon as I looked at it with fresh eyes, I knew what was wrong. I still waited to hear what the group had to say about the piece. Pretty much what I already knew. The area of dark/dull green at the top of the painting does not read right.

So, I brushed off the pastel in the green area (outside, in the yard) and then sprayed it with water. As you see in the photo, I turned the painting upside down to preserve the parts I like and consider finished. I brought it inside to dry. Most of the tooth of the paper will be recovered and I can put in the right sky for this painting. I'm excited. At 36" x 48", it's one of the largest paintings I've ever attempted.

Countdown continues ... only 9 days to go!

1 comment:

Celeste Bergin said...

that IS a big painting--the tree shows the scale!I will be watching to see how you change this. I really like that the Wallis paper allows you to "re-state" a passage.