It’s happened to all of us. You get inspired by something, you sit down to paint, you finish, and then you look at it and see the mistakes. Ugh. I have to admit, sometimes I don’t notice the mistakes until I take a photo of the final piece for Instagram. For some reason seeing it as a photo, gives me a different perspective on the piece.
So…you made a mistake and you aren’t happy with your painting, now what? Do you dive back in and try again or say “Oh well.” For me it depends. A big factor is how long I worked on the piece. If it was a quickie, like the Gerbera Daisy below, I’ll dive back in. I also weigh how big of a mistake it was. I’ve learned over time, that I’m very critical of a piece right after finishing it, because I’m still “in it.” Several days later I’m much less critical.
For me, the mistake of adding 2-3 extra rows of petals was too big to ignore. I was so happy with the painting until I “saw” what I had done. I had gotten carried away. I immediately started another version.
I’ve had this dilema before and wrote about it, here and here. What I realized back then, is that painting a piece over doesn’t ensure success. It doesn’t ensure a better version. I might correct some mistakes, but lose other good things about the first version.
Do you paint a new version when you make a mistake?
mycreativeresolution.com 
I adore both. And I am so bad, I don’t like to paint a new version, I just like to keep moving on. So good for you to make yourself happy with the second version.
Nah, I totally understand just moving forward. Thank u!
I always have told my young art students “perceived mistakes” are just happy opportunities. Both your paintings are awesome.
Thanks Sharon! 🙂
I agree with Sharon and C both. I just move on, usually don’t go back, and both of your paintings are beautiful. Love your colors too. Tell that inner critic to shut his piehole. 🙂 Nice work!
Ha ha. I will tell him. Thank you!
I too like both. I often do things more than once; sometimes I like them better, sometimes not. But I always see different things with each attempt, and I think that’s valuable.
I think you are right. I like working in my sketchbook because I feel more free to do different versions and like you said I see what I did differently and learn from that.
Sometimes. Mostly I try to incorporate mistakes into the existing piece, but sometimes (like a portrait where the perspective was way wonky and I somehow didn’t notice) I start anew.
Thanks for your feedback!