If it’s in my studio, it’s fair game for revision. That’s my motto, especially with paintings.

This painting, Nice Girls (40″x40″, oil on canvas), shown here as a ‘before’ and ‘after’, was revised a year after I thought it was complete. It’s been in shows in both versions.  I really do think it’s finished this time.  The revision was simple…just a brightened color in the upper background and some slight linework, but I think the painting is enormously better for it. 

This painting (untitled as of now, 24″x18″, oil on canvas) is new.  It sat around my studio for some time as I looked at it and thought about it.  I liked the abstracted figure but wasn’t happy with the color relationships. I like my colors more assertive and punched up, as you can see in the finished painting.

By the way, this painting had two previous paintings underneath it, completely unrelated to this one.  All three paintings were done from a model in my studio. With a model, I tend to work quickly while the model is there and then contemplate for a few weeks while the painting dries.  Later, without the model, I can complete the painting.  Or I can paint over it, like I did with these two.

Neither of these two earlier paintings piqued my interest much, though perhaps both could have been finished to my satisfaction. Instead, I reused the canvas to see what I might get from a new pose. These two are gone now, you can see the color from them peeking out from under the new painting.