My personal method of working is to paint in layers while attempting to leave some of what was before in the final work. Oftentimes I paint a painting knowing that I will paint over it.
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| The painting that got put away for a while. |
Then a month or so later I will pick-up a previously painted canvas to create an abstract layer painting on top of the old work! What I love about painting over the older work is that the painting is going to have some of the texture of the under-painting. Is this process pentimento?
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| The painting that it became 3 months later. |
In my paintings, unlike the masters of several centuries ago, I am not changing my mind as to the composition in my work, I am instead using the texture as a part of the goal for my work. I want to say through my paintings, that life's work gets richer and more beautiful as it ages and gains experience; or as in the case of my paintings, richer in texture from layers of paint.
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According to the definition in Wikipedia, if I purposefully change from one subject matter to another, this may mean there is no pentimento in my work at all. However, I do intend for the under-layers to be a part of the final work, so in my case pentimento is a part of the goal of the work.
This post really helped me with my own work today. Thank You. As I learn the language of abstract art, what I'm enjoying most, is painting right over what I've done, leaving a bit of the underpainting in - sometimes I think a painting is finished, then a few days or weeks later, I'll go at it again and that's when it'll really come together. It's fun to hear about how you work and to be able to see that process as it unfolds.
ReplyDeleteAndrea I am so glad that I could give you a vocab word for what we already do - fun to know this stuff isn't it? Keep Painting!
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