Making a Difference With Fresh Eyes

"Basking in Sunlight"

Original watercolour by Jean Haines

 

I always , without fail, look at all my recently finished paintings with fresh eyes every morning. The day after I have created a finished piece I can often see where a slight improvement, or not, can be made. Fresh eyes are the best for making important decisions.

Sometimes I feel a painting is definitely completed. At others I feel something is wrong, missing or needing correcting. As with the above painting.

I loved my painting "Basking in Sunlight" so much and had left it on my easel to enjoy for a while. But every time I looked at it something bothered me. My cat seemed to be floating. It needed anchoring in the composition. And so I added darker tones to create the shadow effect as the fur was nearer to the resting space the cat is laying on. To me this made the painting look far more atrractive and the story is now more complete. My cat isn't floating. It is lying on something! This is where I will put my brushes down. Any more addition of colour or detail and the spontaneity and freshness could be lost

 

 "Basking in Sunlight" before the shadow was added. 

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Artists Tips

1) Always look at your finished work the next day with fresh eyes. 

2) Don't race to make changes or additions. 

3) Take your time to consider all your options  on how to improve your work without ruining it

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