Ultramarine Dugout at Warman - Painting Makeover

Ultramarine Dugout at Warman

(after)

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2018

sold

These "painting makeovers" have been a huge learning exercise for me. I honestly feel that over the last year alone I have grown so much in my understanding of my materials, and more specifically, my understanding of value and colour. I have so much more to learn, but I am encouraged by the fact that I am aware of my own growth.

I actually don't have too many more paintings on hand that I feel are worthy of a makeover, but I do have a stack of work worthy of a wood chipper or table saw, whichever I have access to first. Those babies are going down and NEVER seeing the light of day! They are canvases, boards and paper pieces that I hate so much I have no desire to invest anymore time on them at all. Except, that is, the time it will take to destroy them. They actually repulse me! Ha!

Ultramarine Dugout at Warman

(before)

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2017

I do have some, though, that I like enough to try to improve. So there will be a few more makeovers. There are a handful that I did early last year which now seem to stop just short of my current standards. I love the fact that even within a year's time I would do things differently on some pieces. I love that my "eye" has more experience. In some cases it's because they now seem unfinished, in other cases they just seem dull and lifeless (an issue that is more apparent in person and hard to show in a photograph). Above is one that had both problems. I feel like now the "after" version packs the punch that I hoped for originally. The deep blue water of the dugout finally has the vibe I was going for in the first place. The shape of the foreground grasses is better and I am happy that I decided to make an entry point to the left of the bottom centre, breaking up the line of the grasses. I also love the subtle changes to the clouds.

I am curious to hear your thoughts. If you have an opinion one way or the other; drop me a comment here, on Facebook or on Instagram- I'd love to hear from you!