As I moved forward and developed my art, I looked over my developments and history. I realized that, over time, I had improved immensely. Some of my earlier work seemed decent, yet lacked something. One piece I had finished almost five years earlier appeared to need improvements and I wondered if I should just touch them up a bit. This then became a serious internal debate about renewing older works that have been in the public’s view – would redoing the painting in some areas remove a part of my history? Would those who really enjoy my work consider these changes unjust?And finally, as my skills have improved, is it even worth my time and effort to update older work or should I just move on to newer projects?
I came to the conclusion that, yes, you can renew paintings – but you have to look at several factors.
- How much time will it take me to touch up a painting? This is my first big decision when thinking of touching up an older painting. As all my art takes time to produce and my time is limited, I need to look at the time it is going to take to update an older work. If it looks like I can just pull out some paint and fix it up in a day, then it may be worth the time. However, if I am looking at an overhaul that may take several days and a lot of rework, I would consider this as time I could spend on other paintings and simply move on.
- Will it increase or decrease the value the piece?I feel it is professional to reflect on how this overhaul will affect others as well. Some fans may actually like the work as it is and would prefer that it not be changed. For this reason, if I have had a painting in the public’s view and up for sale, I will not rework the painting at all, even if it’s just a simple color shift. Someone out there may want the painting as is and changing the art may decrease its value to these collectors.
- Will it ultimately improve the quality of this work?If I am reworking a painting, it is because I feel something is missing and the process will improve it. Sometimes updating a part of the painting does improve the work but I have also found from personal experience that there are times when the rework drops that quality of the work and even destroys it.
- Will it delete or improve the timeline of my paintings?As an artist, I feel I have a history or timeline which displays everything I have worked on since I picked up my first crayon.Reworking a finished painting could alter that history or timeline. So, if the work is a few years old and has been hanging on the wall, I may choose to just leave it alone, as opposed to a painting that still feels incomplete even though I thought I had finished it a month or so ago. Therefore, I have learned to leave a painting for a few weeks so that the familiarity of it fades, allowing me to see things that require improvement.
Ultimately, if you are an artist, you can do whatever you choose with your work. If, after several years, you want to add to a paining that’s been in the closet, go for it. Just remember, time in life is limited. Be clear about what will inspire you most…you may decide that it is more worthwhile to work on something new that could be far better.