Friday, August 10, 2007

Scissors Are My Friend

Or should it be 'Is My Friend(s)' grammar is not my strongest suit. While going through my stored paintings I collected a stash of ones that were either unfinished, or less than acceptable to me. Most of these were watercolors or acrylics done on paper. Which gave me an option - I could change the composition with a pair of scissors. By trimming off the side or sides, the top and/or bottom I could create a totally different painting. Some still need a brush stroke or two to finish. My friends talked me out of cutting up a couple. But most got a trim. I will photograph them over the next couple of days. Should have done some 'before' photos so you could see the difference - didn't think about it until it was too late. So you will have to settle for just the 'afters'. This technique is more difficult for paintings done on stretched canvas, you have to remove it from the stretchers, trim it and then re-stretch (which is a pain). Those I usually just add to the composition rather than change the size. Or even paint over and try again. Nothing wrong with that. Watercolors, on the other hand, are difficult to paint over, so if you can salvage a painting with scissors, go for it.

No comments: