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Today I spent time cleaning out the flat files where I keep pastel papers, completed works, and some starts of paintings.

This is all in preparation for an open studio that I'll be hosting in the next few weeks.

Although I do this periodically, it has been a while since I tackled clearing this storage area, so I knew I needed to just get rid of some of the work. There are sometimes pieces that just do not make the grade for various reasons.

If the piece has been painted on a high quality sanded paper, such as Wallis, or U-Art, I can clean it off, and re-cycle the paper.

How do I do this?

The first step is to simple use the brush attachment on the vacuum, and just vacuum it off.

 Here is the ghost image of a piece where I did just that. At this point, I still did not think it was worth saving, so I then used an inexpensive foam brush, with water, and proceeded to wipe it off. The remaining pastel dissolves a bit in the water, and leaves a uniform " mud" on the cleared surface. This is great for painting, since it is usually an umber tone.
If need be, I weight the paper while drying, to eliminate buckling.

Sometimes, I think that the ghost image IS worth saving.

What does this tell me?

Could be several things...

That the original piece needed to have the values closer together

That the edges needed to be softened

That some of the colors were too intense, and needed to be greyed

That the application of the pastel was too busy, or the stokes were too distracting...

It could be any one of these things, or a combination.

I usually do not hesitate to  abandon a piece. or put it aside when it is not working.

" Prickly Path", 24x20

Here is a piece that I did retrieve, and worked over the ghost image.

Perhaps the "hoover " test would work for you! 

Quite a while ago I learned the value of letting a studio work just sit, especially when I sensed it was not working the way I had hoped. Sometimes I move right on to other pieces, and other times I will place the piece in view where I can see it every day, and think about the next steps.

As creatives, we do tend to be excited about our newest works, and in the initial thrall may overlook some things that are just not working.

Sometimes these pieces go out before the public before they are ready.  ( I am guilty of that!)

A piece that I worked on for a while ...and actually put away for a time is this one.

I loved the image; that of a garden path edged by a verdant wood. I thought that this piece was okay, but it simply did not convey what I wanted to get across to the viewer.

The time of day is the rich, warm " magic hour" , and /I wanted the viewer to walk down the path, and linger in the rosy light in an enticing , somewhat mysterious setting.

By letting it sit I could view it with fresh eyes, and see what I needed to " fix."

The light streak, and the hard line towards the back actually cut the viewer off.

I also felt that the palette needed  adjustment, as I wanted a warmer glow throughout.

So, I fixed those concerns...which I went in to a bit more detail on my web site, in the "Online Critique" section...

The time lapsed absolutely helped me to come up with a painting that I feel conveys the initial inspiration to the viewer. 

"Ginter Light", pastel, 18x24 available through web site, S-Scape West Studio/Gallery