...when I am good enough?
I am going through a frenzy of painting over old canvases. Not much is safe and paintings I once adored are rapidly disappearing under a thick blanket of gesso as I wonder how I ever thought they were worth hanging on a wall.
Will the pieces I created fresh this week meet the same fate this time next year? Will I ever be satisfied?
Mind you, didn't many of the great Masters do the same thing? Aren't there instances of restorers finding older paintings hiding underneath those prized today? I wonder what lies beneath the Mona Lisa? I think it might be something saucy - which possibly accounts for that enigmatic expression she's been wearing for the last five centuries or so.
Maybe one day the experts will apply the digital thermal x-ray techno wotsits and see the large eye that resides beneath this mermaid. I'm pretty certain there's something else below that one too!
If you own a masterpiece and another is found underneath, does that make it twice as valuable? Imagine rubbing off Venus because you preferred the 'still life with old shoe' underneath! I wonder if there is a law against such things?
I am starting to talk nonsense now! You should really read yesterday's post where my philosophising was of a more intellectual nature - and I won't be painting over the art I share there either anytime soon (particularly as I no longer own it)!
It seems appropriate that this piece I am sharing for Paint Party Friday this week is very much a work in progress and, given the number of paintings underneath her, I assume she will remain so for many years to come!
Tune in next week for the next version!
Postscript: Carol just left me a comment mentioning the male figure behind the siren. Well, I thought for a moment she was seeing things, for I never painted a male figure. But then I looked again... and what do you know... there he is! How spooky is that?!! Thanks Carol. Namaste!
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I think your work is beautiful...you are already good enough! I have been known to paint over older canvasses too. I think lots of artists do this. I believe it's not so much that the art isn't good any more but rather, that we are continually growing as artists so we constantly see things in a new light. Creativity is not static...it's always on the move in each of us. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the piece underneath was probably just as beautiful as this one. Though I wish I could just paint over some of my watercolours too. Happy PPF. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love painting over old canvases as only I know what lies underneath them and this gives me a perverse type of pleasure as often they are rubbish.......lol Loving your repurpose canvas. Happy PPF and enjoy the weekend, Annette x
ReplyDeleteYou are brave! I rarely paint over my old stuff. Basically because I like seeing how far I've come from then but then again I don't have many old paintings anymore. :) Mermie is looking fine! :)
ReplyDeleteIt fits in nicely with the secret history comment from yesterday which I loved... have been thinking about that all day today...xx
ReplyDeleteI think her "history" glows through. She looks as if she has secrets. I think you are quite brave! Happy PPF
ReplyDeleteFantastic painting over your old one. you ask by yourself if you are good enogh. believe me you are so good, your paintings are so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLovely greet
marja
(marjascreativity)
GREAT questions- I love thinking like this. And I too, have painted over many, MANY of my canvases. I think it's just something we artists do ;)
ReplyDeleteOh and rest assured that your painting from yesterday will NEVER be painted over- I can't wait for it to come home to me; what a treasure! In fact, I think I'll print your post from yesterday and attach it to the back......
I am sure that the work underneath was every bit as good as what you've painted over the top of it. I've painted over a couple of paintings but only because I wasn't happy with them while they were still works in progress and I've 'upcycled' shop bought canvasses by painting my own art over the top of them - does that count. Today's cow used to be a photograph of a big flower that my husband rescued from a boot sale!
ReplyDeleteYou are more than good enough already, and surely finding that we don't like something we did last year is a sign of our artistic growth. I love this new mysterious lady. And it's always a lot of fun being brave enough to paint over, And like you I find it therapeutic.
ReplyDeleteShe is beautiful and the male figure behind her is intriquing ~ Wonderful! ~ We all have those days ~ tell the 'self critic' to go sit in a chair and just create ~ (A Creative Harbor)
ReplyDeleteYou are brave indeed! I imagine that you have improved over the years and what once was "wonderful" to you is not what you are capable of now. I feel the same way, but I'm not painting over the old since my un-artistic relatives like them and want them when I give them up (or die). This painting of yours here is so beautiful. I love the dark colors in it.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it's part of growing as an artist.
ReplyDeleteI recycle stuff from time to time, when it no longer appeals to me, but I have one or two pieces that i keep stashed away and take out from time to time to remind me how far I've come.
Really like this one, very striking.
You may not have meant to paint a man as well, but having Carol point this out, I can see him...really cool. Love the painting anyway, but that just adds to the mystery of the piece.
ReplyDeleteSoulful eyes! I think it adds to a painting to have another one below it- a secret that only the artist knows about.
ReplyDeleteThe many layers only adds to the mystery. I think she is wonderful. I have one board that has like five paintings under it. I think its part of our growth as artists that we just keep moving forward. Beautiful work. Happy PPF
ReplyDeleteOh painting over or sticking over is my best work. Somehow these always sell best too!!!! You keep on art is never finished just at a certain stage. :-) Joan
ReplyDeleteLovely blue portrait!
ReplyDeleteYou are enough! :)
♥♥♥
Happy PPF!!
Mary
Mixed-Media Map Art
Wow! I had to pop back up to the top to see this male for myself, having missed it completely at my first glance... how did I miss that the first time around... he is so clear at second glance! Now, let's get philosophical about that...
ReplyDeletehugs,
Beth P
I've done that before many times, but I always took a picture of the first painting before I painted over it. Love the blue portrait, it's wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI had one painting last year that sold just as I was about to paint over it.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I don't want to be one of those people who has 500 painted canvases stacked in a closet somewhere...
Oh, and BTW, you are good enough...right now. You're the only one who doesn't know--your work is good enough for everyone except (maybe) you...
I do that as well, some paintings recently I have relooked at and wondered how I ever thought they were finished!! I love this reworked piece. I also see a face outline behind the main face in the background. A mouth and eye...like a shadow over her shoulder...or maybe I am tired and seeing things!! :)
ReplyDeleteI find her fabulous.. and I also see a mouth and an eye over her shoulder.. no matter if its reworked or not.. it's great !
ReplyDeletepainting over canvases is the best. Nice work here! very expressive
ReplyDeleteBeautiful piece! You are good enough today and tomorrow you will be better! :)
ReplyDeleteI love this painting and I love the idea of a secret painting underneath, but I am not brave enough to paint over any of mine, even though I will never do anything but store them in my studio!
ReplyDeletex
I saw the figure next to her right away, especially the mouth is visible. And it makes the painting really special I think, looks a bit like she's whispering in her ear.
ReplyDeleteI saw the other face, too, and thought it was just a preliminary sketch placement of the girl....oooo, eerie that it just showed up like that!
ReplyDeleteI paint over stuff, too.....I think it needs to satisfy us first, or it just isn't worth keeping :)
this is soo inspiring..I love your work.its horrific and at the same time its enchantingly beautiful.I LOVE it! It really reminds me of a book I once read called Deep and Dark and Dangerous!
ReplyDeleteOh wow, the male face is crazy cool. What a neat accident. I think he was meant to be! gorgeous painting, and yes, layers and layers underneath. So many stories!
ReplyDeleteI love your new masterpiece-in-progress, Lisa. The depth and mood you captured are really great. I sometimes paint over old pieces that I have become dissatisfied with, for various reasons, and almost inevitably the final painting knocks it out of the park for me. So, I have decided that all those layers and paintings underneath are actually a integral part of my "masterpiece." Occasionally, it even takes me 3 paintings to find the real painting within, but I've decided I'm okay with that. Well, that's my story anyway, and I'm sticking to it!
ReplyDeleteHow funny, a siren under the Mona Lisa, wow, love your imagination. I never like what I do either, but everyone else seems to, so. . . . This is a masterpiece in and of itself, looking forward to seeing more. Yep, there is someone beside her, a ghost perhaps. . . with your imagination, I can believe there is a story to tell. . . . go for it. Blessings, Janet PPF
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