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when Paintings go wrong

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Alan Beresford

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At the weekend I tried to paint a picture of a Parrot. There have been some great attempts in the gallery and another art Facebook group im connected with.  SO I found a great Image I could do and I had my first attempt. Needles to say it ended up looking like an angry colourful crow, or the dick emery skin head character, so I painted red braces on it. I then had another attempt which is still not perfect but more like I had imagined how it would turn out. I have attached both attempt. I wonder have you ever had a painting go wrong like this.
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, NAPA

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Often!  Mind you, my late uncle and aunt managed a vivarium/aquarium on Weston-Super-Mare seafront, and they had a macaw outside, when it was warm, inviting the visitors in.  And when Welsh schoolboys came over and tried teasing him, he looked a lot like your first picture, but minus the braces.  My aunt came out to tell 'em off, and they went inside, and then started mocking the boa constrictor - saying he was dead.   My aunt lifted the lid on his tank, pulled him out, and the cooler air woke him right up: "Still think he's dead, do you?", she said; "Don't be silly, Mrs!" terrified little horrors chorused, as Bertie the boa took a keen interest in them.  All part of the learning process - paintings that go wrong, irritated macaws, and beaming boas........
Moi 17

Linda Wilson

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Yes paintings go wrong........  They don’t all get fixed either.

Anthony Knight

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Yep, they can go wrong in a flash. Good thing about oils is you’ve got a chance of pulling them back...more difficult with watercolour IMO.

Alan Bickley

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Occasionally but rarely! Whatever medium I’m using I can generally sort out any issues before they becomes terminal...that includes watercolour, but of course oils don’t pose any problem whatsoever! If I do have a disaster, it’s generally down to bad or inadequate planning in the early stages, often poor composition /tonal balance in the main and is probably a good time to take a break from painting for a while. But it’s only a piece of paper, canvas or board, it just doesn’t matter and is all part of painting.

Ellen Mooney

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Oh yes....I paint over them, and if all else fails they end up in the bin. 

Denise Cat

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I did grapes that looked like frosted marbles/brussels sprouts. The second time I did them, I leaned from my mistakes. They actually looked like grapes.
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, NAPA

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Good points from Alan - if something goes wrong, more than half the time it's because the basic drawing was wrong, and you're having to reconstruct the picture as you go along: never easy.  Watercolour IS more difficult to repair - depending on what's gone wrong - but I saw a demo by a well-known watercolourist (translation: I've entirely forgotten who he was) in which he took a watercolour (which by the way looked fine to me) and basically washed it off, or large parts of it off, and reinstated it to a state that pleased him more.  I'd have been happy with either....   You'd need a good quality paper to do that, though - some of the stuff I've used in the past would have disintegrated.  

Bari Marsh

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Yes I have put a watercolour under the hot tap before now. But have been using a magic sponge for a few years they are sold individually in some art shops or you can get a box full at the £1 shop. They don't damage the paper.
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, NAPA

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Shopping list - gin; tonic; lemon and lime; magic sponge.....

Sylvia Evans

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If all else fails after G& T and magic sponge .  Leave till Christmas time ,add some glitz , cut into short strips, punch hole in top add ribbon and heyho you have your Chrissy labels .  Finish off the Gin. 

Bari Marsh

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