REPAINTING OR REDOING YOUR OLD PAINTINGS

I have a lot of old oil paintings that I have not sold. It accumulates every year and after a while it is paintings everywhere. What must I do? My first action was if I cannot sell it destroy it? Or give it away. Have a sale! I gave some paintings away fro free to my friends and I always give paintings as presents to others.
But even so many paintings remain for a very long time with me. Obviously some paintings I can hang in my own dwelling but there are still left over.
So here is what you can do:
1. Seriously look at the painting – is it worthy art?
2. Conjure up in you mind criticism of people in the past and add some of your own.
3. Rethink the idea, story, composition, colours etc. of the painting.
With this in mind you have to decide :
1. Keep it as it is – it could be a present for somebody or hang on your own wall (if you have the luxury of your own gallery...the ideal!)
2. Destroy it – it is not worth it!
3. Correct it based on the three questions above.
Obviously now the question is how do I redo the painting or enhance and change it?
THE FIRST STEP – Sand down the area where you think the composition is wrong – the structural correction of the painting.
THE SECOND STEP – Repaint that area – give attention to first apply some linseed oil and turps to the area before painting. Try and paint it with the same palette as in the past.
THE THIRD STEP – Re-evaluate the painting again. Now the composition is corrected and the flow of your eye over the painting is adjusted. Correct this until the eye is happy!
THE FOURTH STEP – Criticism in the past with regards to colour...Should you enhance the colour to a brighter expression or a more classical expression or just stay within a certain range f colours (monochrome painting). Brighter colours normally influence people easily but the art is also seldom art that lasts because too bright is just not real unless the reality of what you painted is in fact very bright. These choices are your own to make.
THE FIFTH STEP – For me is now to at first leave the painting for a while, but put it in such a place that you can see it daily. Study it and make some small recommendations to yourself. Once you are finished studying it, make the recommended changes. You can go through this fifth stage a couple of times until you are happy.

IN ITSELF THIS PROCESS IS VERY REWARDING AND YOU LEARN SO MUCH! Especially in the area of how you look at a painting. Art must have this ingredient - you must enjoy or have some definite emotional or spiritual connection with it.

Now your final artwork should be more “worthy” in your eyes. Can you now sell it or give it away or hang it on your own space! Something that you really like is more likely to find a person that also likes it!
So final question to you is how many paintings do you have that you think should be renewed like this?
Just maybe one thing that you take home as well – always take note of criticism...It is your school – make sure you learn from it, but in the end it is up to you to say this is the final product. You are the artist!