Just as writers who publish a book may want to go back and make revisions later, artists may look at earlier paintings and feel the need to revise. This happened to me with a painting I had finished and signed a year or two ago:
There was just something too planned and controlled, but more than that, the plan didn't really seem to come off. It was the fulfillment of an idea I had, but the execution was not as successful as I'd hoped.
At first I thought I could "fix" it with a few changes. I began to paint over the larger x's and circle's with the same color as the original, but mixed with glaze medium to thin it down.
When I saw what I had at that point, it didn't seem to be enough. So I then painted over the next smaller x's and circles. Well, the more I worked on this, the worse it seemed to get. Finally, I drew lines in burnt sienna and burnt umpber, blending them with a brush.
OK, now I've destroyed the painting that was, but need to see if I can find a new one tomorrow.
