Reworking Paintings

I try not to throw away a painting that I am not happy with for at least a few months. That gives my time to look at it and reflect upon it, to see if there is any way to save it. These few were in storage for a years. I brought them out this past weekend, and seeing them with fresh eyes, I was able to figure out what they needed.

Sometimes a bad painting needs a good cropping. The top one started out as a half sheet horizontal and is now a vertical 11" x 14". In addition to cropping, it needed some serious color reworking and some softening. The second one just needed a lighter touch with the color, which I did with titanium white paint throughout. The bridge moonlight scene just need a slight color adjustment.

I am still working on the bottom one. I am adding more pen work, more shadows, and some white highlights. This one also benefited from a good, stiff cropping from a half sheet to a quarter.