When I discovered acrylic painting, one of my favorite realizations was that there was nothing that could not be changed. I remember pencil drawings that I did as a child when the paper would get thin from using the eraser all the time. You could still see the erased lines from previous trials. With Acrylics you can paint over your work…again and again. And for me that really changed my way of painting. You start somewhere and create something that will be a first layer. If there are parts you don’t like you eliminate them by wiping them away with a sponge or a rag or by simply painting over. Then you build on the elements that you like, using them as part of your next layer. So the whole painting process is a constant system of addition and subtraction. All these layers give depth and richness to your painting. When you look at the painting it is almost as if you can feel a hidden story behind it that can be detected in the paint’s tiny tracks.

Painting a picture in this way means that every stroke you make can be removed or modified. In this way, painting is very forgiving. . You are in a permanent state of action and re-action, discarding and saving.

I’ve come to see the act of creation as a process of  giving and taking.

The following video demonstrates how a painter uses the idea of addition and elimination. I really like how you can follow the unpredictability of the painting process.