Painting Good v.s. Painting Great

Happy Friday!  I'm feeling pretty positive about some decisions I've been making for my business lately.  I've got some cute marketing pieces going out to vendors I know and love, I'm enjoying my wedding working Saturdays (yay for extra cash!) and after taking an initial 10 steps back on a painting, I found that it has really brought me about 15 more steps forward.  You'll remember my reference composition debacle and the decision I made to start from scratch with a much more focused image.  I wanted to show you the difference between the two.

Original is on the left; new composition on the right

Original progress before wiping out:

New painting:

Now you can really see the difference and why I needed to make the decision I did.  There are details, crispness and texture that I just couldn't get from the original composition.  Some may think that as an artist, couldn't I just have looked at the new composition and doctored up the old one.  Well, with the way I work and the system I have down, it would have been a struggle for me....and let's face it, I don't want to struggle any more than I have to.

This is where the side by side comparisons will end, and I will move on with regular updates.  I know I said Shane Welch would be in this one, but I think I'll save him for the next update.  In the meantime, have a good weekend!!!