Revisiting Old Paintings

Since it's been chilly outside and I don't much like painting when it's cold and drab, I decided to work on some older paintings that needed some attention or just needed some editing. One painting that I did a while back was of the Mark Twain estate in West Hartford. It is an interesting building, set up high on a hill. The painting was scratched from mishandling on my part, so I decided to fix it and try to renew it. I sprayed it with retouch varnish and it now looks very fresh. I feel pretty good about it now, so I will probably put it out for a showing this year.

Another painting that I decided needed some work was one of a horse stable, Carriage Farm. I felt the hills were too blurry and I didn't like the pine tree on the right side of the canvas, so I removed it. I hated the clouds, they didn't add anything so I removed them. Don Demers said that you shouldn't put clouds in if they don't add anything, and I now look at my landscapes differently. Sometimes clouds can add to the atmosphere, but sometimes they just detract from the scene. I textured the sky with color and it's much brighter now, but it doesn't take away from the subject. I also worked more on the trees behind the building and the fields. I'm much happier with the outcome.

I think that if you are not happy with a painting, you should consider reworking it. I don't like to give up on paintings, though there are those that just are not worth the trouble.