I just pulled an older piece of mine out from storage and was immediately struck by how similar the marks were in terms of value. Not that this is bad necessarily, but when compared with my more recent work, I quickly saw how this older piece was not as engaging. I knew I had to change it.
Watch the video, and leave a comment. What do you think of when you look at your older work?
In gratitude, Nicholas
42 Comments
Hi! I’m
Nicholas Wilton
the founder of Art2Life.
With over 20 years experience as a working artist and educator, I’ve developed a systematic approach that brings authenticity, spontaneity and joy back into the creative process.
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Very brave to go back in to a pretty good painting to make it better. Thanks for the encouragement because I have several paintings that need to be reworked. Always the danger of overworking but that is how I learn. Lots of duds and then one humdinger.
Oh yeah– changing things is the only path forward..go for it!
This is such a valuable lesson. I used to get so stuck in reworking even paintings I was working on. Frozen because I didn’t want to ‘lose something I loved’. Now I feel the freedom of pushing it…over the edge as you say Nick…and learning how to pull it back. It’s really fun and has taken so much stress out of creating.
Amazing how that change really affects the personality of the painting and makes that pink look so great. I love seeing how making that one change can drastically affect the entire outcome! Bravo!
Hey Janet! yeah I love too how colors are changed by editing..it is so interesting–always amazes me..
Not quite sure about the lighter value but I’ll wait until complete.
I find myself fixing older paintings all the time. Not the oils only the acrylics and most of the paintings I fix re on my families walls. They are not amused. Love your blogs they keep me motivated.
It is funny because I still go by my mothers house and in it are all my old paintings from long ago…they feel familiar but were done with such a different thinking that I basically would have tore paint them if I tried to adjust them..I just leave them alone and work
on new ones instead.
I think the change will be amazing. Will it make the crimson shapes too vivid? Brave to re paint!
Not too vivid…I dont think. It does make them really stand out but now I am adding to those darks..
It certainly feels like you are creating a larger space by linking nearly like values. (the gray, cream and pinkish colors.) And the reddish color certainly stands out more while still being surrounded by the gray. A little more spacious is what I would initially think. It’s appealing.
My older work (and current, frankly) suffers from editing flaws! I think it has to do with how we change over time, aesthetically. As constant refinement shows up in ourselves, it then correspondingly shows up in the work don’t you think?
I do love those upside down teardrop shapes (right side up hot air balloons?). Very, very fun!
Thank you for the post,
Libby
Yes I think that is right—by minimizing value transitions it makes it easier for the eye to wander around-it opens it up…I kept going with this direction and in the end really went lighter and lighter with the values–now the painting is really different..those red darks are the primary darks now with not much else competing..
Can you post a photo of how the painted ended up after you finished going into it. It would be really interesting to see how you refined it 😊
Yes I would like to see that too. I like knowing that minimizing value transitions makes it easier for the eye to travel around. If you have, say, a very bold, primary color painting…does the same apply? That you have to find a way for the bold colors not to compete with each other? I’m thinking a Matisse painting…very bold colors but it hangs together…and I don’t get a sense of competition. I think I’m confusing myself…
Love the discussion and demonstration about values, something I struggle with. Your videos really are always just what I need.
Hi Nick
Happy Sunday Funday!
Love Love this painting, and until you applied the lighter value there I could not imagine how it could be better. Thanks for the brave expression of just going for it! Like you said “It doesn’t matter “Win or Loose on this decision anything can be changed.
I really like this painting and will be interested to see how the lighter grey value will change it and if there needs to be more of the darker red areas. What are the colors in the red that makes it so rich?
I look at paintings I did a year ago and can see changes I would make. Right now they are hanging in a show where I work, so I get to see them out of the studio and in a more critical light.
The large pink ‘P’ is distracting to me. I do like the lighter shade of grey but maybe (to me) the painting has too little definition. aka all the pieces in it are undefined and it is more like a block of color than something that draws you into it. I guess I don’t see a flow anywhere in it. Just a thought.
It will be great to see the allover change with lighter values. My guiding philosophy is that one has nothing to lose by painting over it, old or recent. I paint over a lot even though it was probably hours of work and expensive paint I have to take the leap of faith and say that this will look so much better. It is not precious if you don’t like it. Also I use the thick canvas from Blick so it is expensive . I don’t allow a painting to bully me, if it’s not good I have no reservations about getting rid of it. In fact there is one on my studio wall from about 2 yrs ago. I liked it then and my family likes it but I am changing parts of it very soon. I ask myself if I would paint that same thing today and I would not.
Thanks for sharing your process for reconsidering & improving past work. Working back into a painting & then feeling good about something that I hadn’t felt as good about takes time to learn. I still have to actively remind myself that’s part of the process & is not only OK but to be expected. Thanks for kindly sharing that as part of your process. Much appreciated! Lisa
I really enjoy thes videos Nick. I find them super interesting with extremely useful bits of very useful information. I would love if you did one on mixing oils and mediums (cold wax and Liquin) for different effects for example what you do when you want to really cover opaquely and what you do when you want more of a drippy stain. I know your not really teaching about oil painting and that your concepts are more broad but I would love it and maybe some of your other followers would too. Thanks and happy Sunday.
First of all I really love this painting. And before you painted the light gray I didn’t want you to touch it. Now that I see it I get it. And want to see a gray value in between the light and darker gray somewhere. The refinement process is fascinating. Thank you for your generous videos. I watch them all.
Nicolas , I appreciate your kindness and ability in teaching ! I am learning so much and I just wanted to say thank you. I hope to take a workshop soon!!!
That goes ditto for me. When one hears this and thinks that’s so simple, but makes a huge difference. Keep on teaching. Really appreciate all of it.
Oh god, Nick. I just did a painting in that grey and now I’m questioning it. Haha.
Love this painting before any changes – (sure gives me the courage to change some of my work.) Thanks for sharing, but now that I see the lighter gray, I want to change the Yellow Ochre — seems to be so different in this painting’s palette. I hope you will post an image of your final decisions on this one.
Yes I thought that too.
thank you for showing us these glimpses into your artist process. it wasn’t until i saw you, quite a few months ago, that i felt like i could just take off or add onto a painting that i wasn’t satisfied with. in the distant past i would have just put the piece away, under the bed…and started something new! now i leave a painting on the easel for a while and can see what doesn’t work more clearly! i’ll be super excited to see what you ended up doing with this piece! thanks again for your time and wisdom! cheers, linda
Nicholas, I’m curious in regards of your 4 digit image number system. I’ll assume you have already have photographically documented this painting and that it has a number; does reworking the painting change the number? Was this painting shown publicly yet, or in a gallery for a while with this number? If so, what if someone references this painting, but now that you have reworked it wouldn’t now be a different painting? Has reworking a painting caused any confusion? When do you assign a number? If a painting gets a number when you believe it is ‘finished’ but then a few years later you realize it was not ‘finished and you rework it, again, does the number stay the same or does it get a new number now. And, if it does get a new number, how do you categorize the painting? Is there a note that this painting is now ‘destroyed’? What term do you use to indicate that a painting is now ‘no more’?
Interesting point about “sensitivity.” Hmmmm….. This change makes the composition much more elegant.
I think lightening the gray made it much more pleasing but I’m wondering if the lighter gray should have been a little warmer. It looks much cooler than the yellows and pinks. But then again maybe the differences of cool and warm colors is good. Please show us the finished painting. Thank you for your generosity Nicholas.
What I would look at is the green shapes. On the left of the painting they are inflating and moving up and becoming happier but then on the right they are deflating as they move down and are becoming smaller and sad. I want the green shape on the lower right to be complete – not falling off the bottom. I want to feel happy as I look. The change of value does help.
Yes, but at least the dark grays connected the darks throughout the painting somewhat. How are you planning to connect the dark red shapes after you lighten the grays? I’m sure you’ll have to make lots of changes. I hope you show us this again when you feel more satisfied with it. As always, thanks.
Thank you for this insight into your thinking. My first thought was that the red shapes were too vivid and that you would be integrating them somehow. Changing the mid gray to lighter gray was a surprise and I can’t wait to see your final result. These weekly videos are such a treat that I look forward to watching.
Bold and refined, I love that intention.
Can’t wait to see how it all unfolds, Nicholas. I admire your spirit of adventure! On a technical note, was this painting not varnished then when it was “finished” the first time…? Thanks for the insight in advance!
Remarkable to see the clarity of your decision making and your steady hand in achieving it. You are so open in showing us this process. I think the lighter grey is beautiful. Yet it becomes a different painting. Should you continue in revision, or simply start again from this newer energy? I battle with that. Thanks so much for all.
Again, your generosity continues to warm my heart. I hope you’ll show us the finished painting. OK, so … yes, I can see that the lighter gray makes a bigger impact with the dark reds.
It was really good to see you again. This makes me smile because i’ve missed the PicNiks and other “interactions.” It’s been a busy summer … sadly not busy in the studio. That will change this week, I hope!
Thank you for your generosity in sharing your process and thinking. Before you started the conversation, I stopped the video and thought to myself, “wonder what changes Nicholas will make?” I was totally WRONG! My thoughts were to make the change areas darker, to make some of the red areas pop, some of the change areas with red in them be mysterious, and allow the geometry of the other shapes to be more evident. Maybe that’s just the scientist in me thinking!
Thank you for your insight!
You’re right! Looking back at old paintings (which I loved at the time) the flaws are glaring. Thanks, in part to your lessons, I can pinpoint what the problems are. It’s so very gratifying to see improvement not only from classes, but from looking at a lot more art and refining my eye. It’s almost like donning a better pair of eyeglasses, allowing me to see things that previously I was blind to.
Definitely I see what you mean. Very interesting. . .I’ll be interested to see it when you’re about midway with that adjustment
Like what you are doing. I wonder about the pinks.
So mush of them and all the same value
Hope you will do something with them
I can’t wait to see where this piece goes. Please share updates. Thank you so much.