“Weeding”

After 10 years of painting I am beginning to run out of room for storage of completed paintings. From the beginning I have discarded “failed” watercolor paintings. However, I have not subjected my oil paintings to the same rigorous reduction. Now to gain more space I must look at each painting with a critical eye and decide those which satisfy me and discard those that do not.

After years of education and painting I have gained the confidence necessary to making good judgments. Three years of critiquing student work has served to finely tune my eye. And there are additional reasons for saving a painting other than the skill exhibited. An artist often has an emotional attachment because of the memories attached or the painting may elicit an emotional response from the viewer.

I have just torn up my first oil painting ever, one begun 3 years ago and never “right”. I discard watercolor paintings all the time; why is it so difficult to destroy oil paintings?

Time: Oil often requires a greater investment of time . Watercolor, for me, requires a lesser investmentof time

Materials: oil paints, canvas, stretcher are expensive . Watercolor paints and paper are less expensive, though matting and framing tend to equalize the costs.

Size: Using oil I paint large (36x26in +) canvases. My watercolor paintings are usually , 1/4, 1/2 or full sheet (23×30 “).

Ability to revise: There is always the possibility to “paint over: an oil painting. Watercolors are less easily “worked over”