We’ve been talking a lot lately about how to connect with clients—listening, asking questions, and building confidence. Let’s change gears and get practical. Every artist ends up with a stack of paintings that didn’t quite land. Some are experiments that went sideways. Others are solid, but not quite worth keeping. So the question naturally comes up: should you paint over them?
The short answer: sometimes yes, sometimes no.
Why It’s Normal
Even history’s greats recycled their canvases. Paint, boards, and linen weren’t cheap, and inspiration didn’t always wait for a new surface. Beneath the finished layers of many masterpieces, restorers have found earlier works—false starts and forgotten ideas. There’s something reassuring about that. Repainting isn’t a failure; it’s part of the creative cycle.
Reasons You Might Paint Over
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You’ve evolved. What once felt like your best work might now look like a warm-up.
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You want to experiment. Sometimes an old piece is the perfect test surface for a new technique.
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You like the texture. The underpainting can add unexpected depth or visual history.
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You’re cleaning house. Old canvases take up space. Repurposing them can feel productive and freeing.
Painting over old work can also quiet that perfectionist voice—it’s permission to move forward instead of clinging to something that doesn’t represent where you are now.
When to Think Twice
There are times when repainting might not be worth it.
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The old work is still relevant in your current body of work – it just hasn’t found the right home.
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You’re reusing surfaces in ways that might not hold up long-term. Even if you’re not a materials expert, it’s wise to be cautious about selling repainted works unless you’re sure they’re stable.
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The piece has emotional or developmental value. Sometimes it’s better to keep earlier works as milestones in your personal collection rather than raw material.
If you’re unsure about the technical side—adhesion, longevity, layering—it’s fine to use old paintings for practice, studies, or underpaintings rather than finished, salable work.
Other Ways to Reuse or Refresh
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Cut and crop. You might find a beautiful section worth saving on its own.
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Sand and re-gesso. Turn it into a clean slate if you prefer not to see the old work beneath.
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Paint new studies on the back. Not every surface has to become a finished piece.
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Trade or gift old work. Sometimes clearing them from your studio gives them new life elsewhere.
The Bottom Line
Painting over an old piece doesn’t mean erasing your past—it means building on it. Whether you reclaim the surface or move on entirely, what matters is that your work—and your materials—support where you’re headed now.
Keep what teaches you. Rework what challenges you. And let the rest go without regret.
Have You Painted Over Older Works?
Have you ever painted over an old piece? How did it change your relationship with the work—or with your own process? What advice would give a fellow artist considering painting over an old piece? What alternatives might you suggest?
Only a time or two – the first time, the paint cracked. That was before I learned about the whole “fat over lean” process.
Hola. para mi se tienen que juntar y exponer entre varios. y asi. yo voy a ferias y es maravilloso
Yes, many times but not as much as I used to. Off and on over some time now I have been working with a particular subject and believe it or not I spent 2 years trying to figure out how to express it. There have been multiple canvases each with a slightly different approach but none expressed what I wanted to say. That change recently when I threw caution to the wind, and took the bull by the horns not caring about anything other than the emotion I wanted to convey.. It worked, and opened a new door!
More to the point, meanwhile, canvases collected. I photograph each “failed” painting , paint them over with a solid color and place them in waiting for reuse later.
Yes! I have painted over old works for the last 40 years.
I “edit” my work a lot. It is a nagging issue of being sure plus an unhealthy dollop of perfectionism. Just today I wrote an email to my art coach about my general lack of satisfaction and related two stories.
A musician friend of mine told me once after a brillant concert we were in, “I don’t think it was that good. I am never able to see past everything I need to correct.” I was shocked but deep down understood with sadness for her.
Then there is the story of Franz Kline, who would bring brushes and paint when visiting a collector who had one of his canvasses. He would set about “fixing” his errors. (?)
Generally, my measurement is, “if it still feels good and I’m surprised in a good way after a month or two, it’s a keeper and I don’t go back. There is one canvas I did at the beginning of my career and it is on my living room wall. I never tire of it. Others, not even facing outward.