The Reworking of the Watchful Guardian ~ If I had to do it all over again…
I believe many artists go through it. Rethinking a painting. The what ifs? Or, maybe I should have… Especially when the painting remains in the studio. Some paintings I would never touch and others I’m tempted to take a brush to and rework!
The Watchful Guardian is one of those paintings I’ve always been tempted to go back to and try and make it more interesting. I was happy with it, but over time I kept thinking maybe if I darken down the background more like The Great One, the Great Blue Heron would come more to life.
The gray/brown background I originally painted was a nice color and I liked the subtle rays of light, but it just left me a little flat. So, today was the day! I repainted the background a dark but rich color, combining Green Earth, Lamp Black, Yellow Ochre and a dab of Titanium White.
The Watchful Guardian, 24 x 30, Oil on canvas, $6200
Once I did that, the bird was fair game. :) I repainted feathers, adding stronger lighting wherever I could. I also took the darks in the wing feathers down a notch by adding some black into the colors.
The Watchful Guardian head detail
This evening I came into my studio and turned the overhead track lights on it to see what I thought. The Watchful Guardian was all of a sudden more interesting to me. The extra details and lighting I added stood out and the heron appeared more lifelike.
It doesn’t always work, reworking a painting, but I’m hoping this time it will stand the test of time! :)
I’d love to hear what you think. Thank you for reading my journal and for your interest in my art. My next painting will be a large one of St. Michael’s Church in Charleston. I had drawn it out a few months back on a 40”x40” canvas, but I got sidetracked and painted a few small Charleston scenes instead. Now I’m ready to tackle a big one!
Thank you for reading my journal and for your interest in my artwork. I’ll be posting work-in-progress pics of my St. Michael’s painting on my Facebook page if you’re interested in following along.
“One of the joys of being an artist is having the freedom to follow my passion….”
What’s Next?
Drawing by William R. Beebe