Ever go back to some of your old work and think “hmm… something isn’t right”? I had that moment lately when I had a look at one of mine. Some time ago, I posted a blog about one of my bunny paintings, Bunny in the Haze. I was happy with the end-result at the time and a few weeks later, found that more could be added, but what and how?
At the time, I was afraid to work further on it because I liked the background so much. Too pretty to paint over. It still bothered me though that it didn’t look complete and in fact even appeared dull. After a few weeks, I came back to it and took the plunge. I decided to make a negative space painting out of the piece to enhance the background, although some of it would have to be painted over. However, I did not want to lose much of the background so added some hearts and flower shapes around the bunny and take it on from there. I painted in grey using a mixture of acrylic medium and Dylusions paint in Slate Grey. And I must say I had a sense of relief when done!
Nevertheless, I was not ready to call it finished. The bunny’s eyes looked a bit dull. I then went a step further and painted the eyes silver! Here I used some Iridescent Silver fluid acrylic (Golden) and traced over the existing eyelashes with some silver acrylic pen. I then lined the base of the eyelids with silver glitter glue. How bling is that!
Once you start, you keep going! I felt more could be added so I grabbed some Sennelier Abstract 3D Liner and began doodling some flowers, hearts and squiggles on the grey I had just painted. These liners are thick acrylic paints that come in squishy tubes from which you squeeze the paint out whilst doodling. And now… that’s much better!
One thing I learned about reworking on this piece is not to be afraid to follow your gut feelings. There’s a reason you’re not fully happy with it. Sometimes it’s because you feel it’s not complete. In this case, it’s best to leave the painting alone for a few weeks till you figure out what’s missing. I initially had reservations about changing the existing piece but felt something could be changed or added. Glad I finally decided to take the plunge!
My Kawaii Quarter 