30 Years Later

They say things always cycle back around or come back in fashion etc.

Before I forget- the paintings here are in progress.  I’m just showing examples of how I may go back into a finished painting and make changes

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I’ve always been interested in what makes people tick.  30 years ago and even more I was doing large life size oil paintings of people in my life.  Sometimes they were simply people I met and asked to model for me. These paintings were done very quickly, even though they are life size, usually in the course of a day or two.

When I was going through some stored paintings recently I came upon some of the paintings that I was doing about 30 years ago.  I am a better/different painter now.  In the past I would never consider going back into an old painting.  When I was done, I was done.  And I was done very quickly.  I felt that if I went back to a painting it would be a completely different painting.  To some extent I still feel t his way but I can move past it.  Also in the past I did not have as much patience as I do now so I didn’t maintain interest in something I felt I had already completed.  Now, it’s almost the opposite.  I find that I look at paintings and see where I could do something better!  I have gone back into numerous paintings and changed them.

There is a maturity that comes with any craft over a period of years.

I always say “as in life, so in the art of that person”.  What I mean is that I have noticed over and over again in my students how their personalities are reflected in the way they make art.  I tend to be swift in my thinking and in my movements so that is the way I paint.  Others may be slower and more deliberate.  Some are impulsive in life and in their painting.  I find that since I have more patience I can call upon a wider range in the way that I execute my paintings;  sometimes they are quick, loose and expressive.  Others are slower and I pay more attention to detail.

The two paintings here are large oils (about 42 x 52 )  I did just under 30 years ago directly from a live model.

Until next time, Melissa