Re (Painted)

These two paintings are beautiful creations that once were quite awful. I have a tendency to begin a painting and decide halfway through that it is headed straight to my ever-growing junk pile. A while back I went through my studio, picking all my worst canvases, and covered over all of them with gesso. That stuff covers but if you are not careful it will leave a texture design on the canvas. Turns out, you can get a really cool effect for the new painting that way. Now I can't even remember what is beneath these beauties. They have been given a new chance at life.

Revitalized is the first canvas I covered over. I chose floral scenes here as a symbol of new life and fresh chances. Well, it's sounds good that way at least. In truth, I just couldn't really figure out what to paint and flowers are my go-to. I really like the effect of the blurry background with the popping red flowers.

Realized nearly went to the junk pile for a second time. I mixed up a mixture of this awesome stuff called Liquin and black oil paint for another project I was working on. Had some left so I grabbed a recovered canvas and layered the black goop all over it. Liquin has a wonderful shine to it. I had no idea what to do with this black shiny canvas. It seemed useless because of the ridges and odd texture. So, I doodled a few flowers onto it, added some stems and a few leaves. Boom! I discovered a simple masterpiece. This piece was gifted to a very special friend of mine.

Two paintings with a really bad past. Two paintings that are now two of my best. One that radiates the essence of growth, one that touched a heart of gold. Both needed some help out of a dark space but have now found their way into the light.