OK,I took the sand paper to the canvas and abused the surface. I couldn't get it all the way to white because my gesso ground was thin (cheap canvas) and canvas texture too course. No matter. I'll just keep working on it and see where it takes me.
Now that I look at my painting, I'm starting to not like the beach background. There's just no connection there between the truck and the beach - I mean conceptually, not visually. It's just an odd juxtaposition. I tell my students that "it's interesting" is not a good enough reason to qualify as concept. I should practice what I preach, huh?
Now that I've spelled it out, I'm gonna have to take it out. No amount of rationalizing will make this work now. Luckily I'm working in oils so this'll be an easy change!
8 comments:
What the hell are you doing? Looking forward to seeing where you go on this. Have you thought about using some power tools? What grit sandpaper on this?
Sanding part of a painting (to remove it) is always a little strange... I tend to prefer the knife, but when painting on wood it's an easy choice. (And nobody likes paintings with holes in them, so sandpaper is a better decision on canvas.)
If you really want the white ground back though, what's stopping you from painting it white? I've done that once or twice when I couldn't get back to the ground. It worked OK. (Kind of a mulligan.)
By the way, I'll be in touch soon. Or maybe 'eventually' is a better word...
David, the best power tool I've used on a painting is a chain saw. One moment you have a bad painting, the next moment, total catharsis.
This isn't a big deal, really. Especially since I couldn't get it down to white, it won't look all THAT different from before. Maybe better integrated edgework. Nothing anyone would notice unless they were looking for it.
Thomas, I'm just used to sanding stuff down rather than painting white on top. I didn't even give a second thought- I suppose painting white on top would work too, except I'll have paint texture to deal with, and how I handle the edge between foreground and back ground would be a little bit tricky, may be.
take your time~
You're right about the texture Terry, I think in the past I've done both scraping/sanding and repainting it white (or the ground color).
But you do have to be conscious of the edges, for sure. you don't want to end up with a big puffy cloud shape in your painting. Especially if it's not in the sky!
I have many miles on me as a watercolorist, so this sanding business is new to me. Chain saw to bad paintings? That's new too, because as a water color painter, all I need is both hands to rip. That plus the f word at high volume.
Thomas, yep. A big puffy cloud can ruin your day! Then again, so can a big hole in your canvas!
David, I've taken sand paper to watercolor before. But mine was on a thick illustration board. Couldn't rip it if I tried. Doesn't diminish the effectiveness of the F word when a painting is hopeless, though.
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