REPAINTING AND REPAIRING AN OIL ON CANVAS, A PAINTING OF ASSISI ( ITALY)

 Hello there! Today I'll share with you a repainted oil painting inspired by a souvenir I picked up in Assisi, Italy (also here ). I visited Assisi, a hometown of Saint Francis back in 2013. It took me only a day to paint the original painting in 2014 (see the post here) but it took me four days to repaint it this August- including one afternoon spent crying because I was exhausted by the effort.  I'm still not sure I'm 100 % finished. Sometimes I  miss the days before I started taking art classes because I was much less critical of my work back then and seemed to enjoy the process more.  Not that I'm complaining. I'm very grateful that I have the means to pursue art more seriously and learn more about different mediums. That certainly wasn't always the case. While it is true that it feels like more work nowadays, I can also see the progress and that's obviously rewarding. I'm happy that it is possible for me to create paintings, especially these kind of classical ones (oil on canvas) and  I'm aware that not everyone has this privilege. 

 

Everyone who has done art in any shape or form has felt uncertain about it at some point. Art can get overwhelming since it's such a vast field. I think it's perfectly normal to feel this way no matter what skill we're acquiring or what field we are exploring and learning about. It is only when we start learning about something (any field really) that we start to realize how much we don't know. If you want to move forward with your art, you cannot expect it to be smooth sailing. There are bound to be some bumps on the road. Finally, only you can answer the question: 'Is it worth it?' For me personally it is worth it and I have absolutely no regret about the amount of time and money I've spent on art. I imagine that it accumulated to a pretty sum over the years. I do occasionally wish that I can be more like 'normal' people who spend their free time on a couch with Netflix but then again it is not like somebody is forcing me to have half a dozen hobbies. If I wanted to chill in front of a TV, I would. I choose to do something else with my time because that's what makes sense for me. If there is any advice I can offer, it would be to whatever makes sense for you when it comes to art. Stick with one medium, try a dozen, take it easy or work hard. You have to figure which of these things work for you at certain times in your life. Life is hard no matter how you look at it. Everything is hard. So, why not at least do something that makes sense to you?

So, above you can see the souvenir art print wood board that inspired this particular painting of mine. Because the art on the board is so small, you cannot really see the details so it was a bit frustrating figuring it all out. I don't have issues with proportions, I can use the smallest art as a reference for the largest art. Besides, I already had the set proportions, that wasn't really a problem. I only changed the proportions of one building, the rest of work was mostly about repainting the colours. I pretty much covered the original colours completely,  mixed up new ones and worked them into the painting. What I wanted to change is basically the colours. I wanted to add more depth to the painting, more colours and life. I wasn't looking for an exact reproduction of the art on the wood board, it would be hard to do that anyway because the art on the work board isn't clear. Not that I don't like this wood board, I love it- but there was no way I could copy the colours on it because they are more artificial. Some parts on the wood print art are even covered in some kind of glitter whereas I wanted a classical looking oil painting that will reminds me of my visit to this beautiful Italian town. After a smooth start, I did come across a few problems with this painting.

One of the problems was that it's been a while since I worked with oil paints. I tend to use acrylics more often because they are admittedly less hassle. Nothing is as beautiful as oil, but acrylics dry more quickly and are easier to clean. I do love working with oil paints but I'm a bit rusty. So, it took some getting used to and I managed to use the wrong oils. I was frustrated at myself for making several mistakes in the art process. It wasn't en easy art project, I have to admit. I could constantly see my old mistakes staring at me. However, as soon as I applied the first layer of paint and changes the sky to a more beautiful shade of blue, I immediately liked it more. Hence I kept adding more and more colour. After a while I decided not to mix my oil paints with oil at all. I didn't have the correct oil anyway (I thought I did, turns out I didn't- there aren't a lot of vegetable oils you can use with oils) so I just mixed the oil colours themselves to get the correct tones.  

I got to the point when I really liked the painting, but I still felt something was still missing. Therefore, I kept adding colour.  I almost wish I didn't because there was something about the colour scheme that I really liked. There seemed to be something very Mediterranean about the colours and the shades. I need to remember these shades so I can use them in other paintings and Mediterranean inspired art. I loved painting Mediterranean houses, buildings and churches. It is not just the architecture that I love, but the special quality of light that exist here, the warm and the glare of it. Mediterranean countries have a special kind of beauty that is a mixture of culture and climate. I certainly find them very inspirational, don't? Perhaps you have noticed, that I often paint Mediterranean motifs. Well, back to the painting in question. I didn't keep it like this because I wanted to accentuate the shades, but I got a bit overboard.

At one point I went too dark with the shades, especially with the house next to the cypress trees, so I tried to correct that. It took me a while to figure out where I want all the shades to be and how I want the textures to look like. Finding the place where the colours meet can be tricky. I wanted the colours to be bold, but I didn't want this painting to look too crazy.  At some times I was unsure of myself, but this was definitely a great learning experience. It gave me an opportunity to apply the skills I acquired at art courses I took over the years.  I do plan to take more art courses in the future, it is hard to figure out these things on one's own. Kudos to self taught artists out there, I could still use some help. I wrote here about my experience of taking an art course in Michelangelo gallery in Mostar. It is definitely something I can recommend if you are interested in art. There are so many ways to learn about art nowadays from online courses to free web tutorials. Still, a classical art course is always a great option.

At one point (pictured above), I went too dark so I corrected that by adding lighter shades. 

To tell you the truth, I'm not sure is this painting finished or not. I might work on it more in the future.  For the time being, I won't be uploading it to my Redbubble and Arthaus art accounts.  I need to think this one through. Thank you for reading and visiting. Have a great week ahead!