How to make up for a botched acrylic painting?

Did you miss your painting? Or are you wondering if this one’s a dud? Don’t know what to do?

Don’t worry! I’ll give you my solutions.

I missed my picture!

I’ve done hundreds of paintings over the last few years, and you can imagine that I’ve missed a few!

It’s always frustrating at first, but there are ALWAYS solutions.

For example, I launch into my abstract painting full of energy, with a well-thought-out plan, and then, as the creation progresses, I realize that the expected result isn’t there…

Here’s what happens at moments like these:

• I feel frustrated at having wasted paint and my stretcher
• I have a tendency to get angry and lose control (a mad desire to throw my brushes across my workshop).
• My state of mind at the moment is not constructive and I tend to make the problem worse.

If you have missed your painting, I suggest two solutions

Step back, take a break

In my other line of work, I’m an art director in a website design agency. And with time, there is a phenomenon that I could clearly notice:

• If I stay too long on a visual creation, I tend to lose myself, to be unable to move forward.
• In this case, I put my creation aside for 24 hours and then come back.
• 9 times out of 10, the fact that I’ve taken a step back enables me to see my work differently and find good solutions.

Iuse this same technique in my artistic work and you know what? It works like a charm!

When I’ve been working on a painting for a long time, if I start to have doubts, I take a step back and leave my painting aside, ideally for 24 hours.

When I come back, I see my painting totally differently and I find lots of solutions!

Then, with hindsight, I bet you’ll realize that your painting was far from a failure!

 

Is your painting a failure? Reuse your equipment!

So you’ve come to terms with the fact that your painting is a dud and you want to throw it away…

No, don’t! Material is expensive enough as it is, so don’t waste it!

Here’s how to get back in business:

1. Take your painting and let your acrylic paint dry thoroughly.
2. Add a good coat of Gesso(Learn more about Gesso)
3. Once the Gesso is dry, you can sand it with very fine-grain sandpaper to smooth the surface.

To conclude

Missing a painting is not inevitable. Take the time to step back and calm down, defuse the situation and find solutions.

What about you? What do you do in this kind of situation?