Re-Doing an Old Painting

In 2012 (almost ten years ago), I painted this painting:

It has been sitting in my stash of paintings for almost a decade.  Not good enough to sell. But kind of nostalgic for me because it represents the time period where I figured out how to go from painting faces like this...

...to something that actually looked like a real human.

Nonetheless, I felt like it was time to revisit the work and do a bit of analysis.  So I grabbed my sketchbook.  What worked?  What didn't?

I decided that one of the major issues was that the composition was problematic.  I could fix that be redoing the painting.  But that seemed like a lot of work.  Instead I decided to address the issues of color, style, and foreground/background.  Here's what it looks like now:

It still has some issues.  The composition still bothers me. The face got a little pudding-y without an actual human to model it from.  Some of the light source stuff isn't right anymore (again, no model to look at).  But I can see how much I've learned over the past few years.  I can see my personal style is stronger.  I can see how time + thoughtful and diligent practice make a difference. And I can see how easy it was for me to identify the problems -- something I struggled with even five years ago.

I look forward to revisiting this painting a few years from now and seeing how I've changed and grown!

If right at this moment you're not where you want to be as an artist, don't fret. 

The first step is to look back and see how far you've come.  Yay you!

The second step is to educate yourself about art (materials, history, techniques, foundational principles).  This is the step that most people want to skip because it's work.  But I truly believe that it's worth the work.

And then all that's left is to practice and play.  Have fun.  Be yourself.  Create a daily art habit, even if it's just 10 minutes a day!  You can do it!

Thanks for stopping by!