I used to be afraid to cover up my art. I didn’t want to ruin a painting. I feared I wouldn’t be able to create anything better. Having photos of my art in progress helps me understand what works and what doesn’t, where I’ve gone too far and how I got to a finished painting I love.

It reminds me there’s always an ugly stage. But my progress photos also help me recreate a painting I’ve cover up.

The other day I was painting and I started to feel like my character looked too pasted on. So I added a ton of dots, splatters and color. I pushed it all too far and made it super busy and muddy.

I got frustrated. I stopped having fun. I knew it was time to look back at my progress photos.

This is one of the easiest ways to get back a painting I’ve covered up. I try to recreate that painting at the earlier stage or start something new, using that photo as inspiration.

Sometimes all I need is to get out of my comfort zone and start playing again so I can really get into a flow, let go and try something new.

In this video you’ll see how I go about covering up the parts of a painting I don’t like. This is one of the whimsical animals we create in my Happy Painting Mini Course. I use oil paintsticks, pencil and acrylic paints on tops of inks, watercolors, soft pastels and paint pen to create a soft-looking face with lots of dimension and character.

If you’ve been wanting to paint together, but feel like you don’t have a lot of time, I’ve put together this self-paced, Happy Painting mini course, which has five instant-access projects. This online workshop is perfect for beginners or anyone looking to get creative and play.

Click here for more details on Happy Painting.

Happy painting!
xo Juliette

P.S. Click HERE to join me for a Free Painting Workshop and get more ways to be loose in your art.