Reinvented Art

I'm a frugal artist. You could call me, "cheap" and that would be accurate, too. Large, stretched canvases can get pricey, so when I have a piece of art painted on one that I don't particularly like, I drag it back into the studio and remake it. That happened once a few weeks ago, which you can read about it here, and it happened twice again, this week.

I created this piece on top of a painting I'd done many years back when I was just first starting to create art, and I'd never really liked it. Naturally, I failed to take a "before" photo of that painting, but trust me when I say that it was art you wouldn't want to hang! On this fun and lively reinvention, I was clearly channeling my inner Pollock.

Because I had such a blast doing it and wanted to be able to blog the process, I found another painting that didn't thrill me, remade it, and took photos at every step along the way.

I started with this 30' x 40' piece, itself a reinvention of an earlier work.

I'd been mostly happy with it when I'd completed it, but in the intervening months, have become less enchanted and less attached to it. It was due for its second make-over.

Using previously painted and gel-printed papers, I collaged onto it to give it some color and pattern variation.

Then, to help blend all those hard-edged papers into the background, I smeared opaque white paint onto the canvas and up over the edges of the collaged papers.

I did this all the way around the painting, being sure to create a solid white border around the entire canvas. Then, the white got mostly covered with bright yellow, which I find makes for an excellent contrast in the final piece.

While applying the yellow (which went right on top of the white while it was still wet, using the same brush that still had white paint in it), I made sure to brush not only over the edges of the collage papers, but across them, too, bringing them even more into the whole. I hate plonking down a piece of collage paper in the middle of something and just letting it float there, unattached to anything else happening around it!

The next step was to round up some paints in squeezie bottles, particularly black and white, which also help the contrast.

I stood over the piece and just had fun squeezing paint all over it. Occasionally, I'd tip the canvas and let the paint flow and drip a bit, and I intentionally allowed some paint to drip and some paint to form long, curvy lines across the surface.

This piece, once it's dry, will be offered to a cousin who has been making noise about wanting some of my work for her walls.

Also in the studio this week is this little jewel-toned piece, a 12" x 12" bit of gessoboard.

In somewhat the same fashion as the work above, this was created using paint and collage papers. 

Next week, I'll show off the fabric I painted to reupholster my old headboard, but in the meantime, happy creating!