I just finished up this little painting. It’s based on a place called Prevelly in Perth, Australia. We were staying nearby on the Margaret River and this was a lookout I came across on a morning run. The light bouncing off the ocean was a blinding and magnificent sight.
One of the challenges I encountered with this painting was overworking it and trying to do too much when what was already on the surface would have been fine.
For example, those exposed rocks around the middle of the painting. There was a point fairly early in the painting when they looked fresh and realistic enough (see the photo below). But then I observed too closely and tried to add too many details, which only detracted from the painting. I then had to try and claw my way back to what it looked like in the earlier stages.
I find that overworking a painting looks worse than underworking it. At least with underworked, you can hide behind the unfinished nature of it and chalk it up to a painterly finish. But with overworked, it’s like, well… you messed that up, didn’t you?
In terms of recovering from an overworked position, here’s what I usually try (in no particular order):
- Step away from the painting and return with fresh eyes and cleaner, more decisive strokes.
- Take a look at any progress shots you’ve taken along the way. Was there a point when it looked alright? Can you try to return to that point?
- Use a larger brush or a palette knife. This forces you to be more economical with your strokes.
- Consider if changing the surroundings will make the overworked area read better (perhaps it’s not overworked at all; it just needs the right context).
- Carefully scrape away some of the excess paint and detail with a palette knife.
- Scrape the area down completely and start over. I try to avoid this but sometimes it’s necessary.
If you ever want to learn more, check out 21 Easy Ways to Improve Your Paintings.
Happy painting!
Dan Scott
Draw Paint Academy
