"Deadfall" Revisited

I've been kicking around the possibility of reworking some paintings I "finished" last year. As I heard Jim Coe say a few years ago, "A painting isn't really finished until it sells." True enough!
I felt this piece had a great foundation, but I missed the mark translating my vision into brush and paint. So... here's attempt #2.

"Deadfall" 11x14 oil

 

For comparison, here's version 1.0

When It Doesn't Work

Already this year I've had the discouraging experience of spending over 6 weeks on painting only to realize it just wasn't going to work. All the planning and design work sometimes goes swirling down and out of sight like a wad of dirty toilet paper. The frustration of realizing the painting wasn't going to ever be what I wanted was compounded by knowing I'd wasted so much time trying desperately to make it work. The more time I had invested in the piece, the more I felt I needed to make it work... and the problems seemed to multiply from there.
This is by no means the first time I've thrown a clunker. In most cases, I just put a painting away for a while and come back to it later to reassess and perhaps attempt to save the piece with fresh eyes. Other pieces seem to somehow be flawed from the moment I start putting down paint and are destined to be sanded down and re-gessoed for another try. Then there are the projects that are nothing more than a thorn in my side and the most therapeutic way to deal with them is a large fire in the back yard!
It's not easy to talk about these failures. Sure, we can say things like we learn more from our failures than successes... blah blah blah. I don't buy that. At least not with my paintings. The painting I spoke of at the beginning of this post was a 20x40 mule deer piece I intended to use as my marquee piece at an upcoming show. Failures like this leave me kicking chairs and throwing paint brushes. 6 weeks is a lot of time to spend slaving away with nothing to show for it. I don't seem to learn anything from that!

2 clunkers and 1 new panel, all back to "square one"

So today, while prepping a board for a painting I need to start for a looming deadline, I sanded and gessoed 2 of those damned clunkers that have been leaning against the studio wall. With a fresh new surface and endless possibilities, these failures have been given a chance at new life. It was a good day... and I didn't even have to start a fire.

"Latent Velocity"... revised edition

"Latent Velocity" 12x9 acrylic

Another of my favorites from a couple of years ago got a makeover today. Sometimes when a painting doesn't sell, there are small tweaks that can be a tremendous addition to the overall appeal of the piece. Sometimes it's as simple as changing the frame. In this case, I've done both and the impact is about as good as I could have hoped for. I'm pretty happy with the results. 
Anyone want to buy some old frames? HA!

If It's Not Right... FIX IT!

I've had time the last couple of days to rethink a couple of paintings that just weren't working for me. I'd repainted the elements bothering me on each of these pieces at least twice before now. I just wasn't having much success.
Last night I dug the "Rock Star" painting out of 'naughty painting' corner of the studio and tried to breathe some life into it. Finally, I feel better about this one!

"Rock Star" 12x20 acrylic

 I was never happy with the placement or the rendering of the bird in the earlier versions. There was a magnolia warbler in this painting and later a white-throated sparrow. No matter what I tried, they seemed to be flat and lifeless. Maybe they just didn't want to be there! The chickadee on the other hand, seems content to hang on one of the small vines before flitting off in search of a bug.

YUCK!

 Satisfied I'd cleared a hurdle with the painting above, I decided to push my luck with "Rites of Spring". Again, I'm much happier with the painting now. Thanks to a suggestion from Terry Miller, it became obvious the placement of the turkeys was not quite right.

2nd or 3rd version still not working!

 I really wanted this painting to be more about the landscape than the turkeys. Unfortunately, that damned gobbler kept drawing all the attention!
By moving the turkeys into the dark area at the base of the tall trees, they seem much less intrusive... even though they're considerably larger than in previous versions. I think it works much better now.

"Rites of Spring" 12x20 acrylic