Does Painting the Same Subject Several Times Get Boring?

Would I get bored if I painted the same subject for several days in a row? It depends on what I'm doing during those days.

If I'm copying the same work again and again, hoping each new painting will be closer to the original, I'd probably get bored. But if it's the same subject on location and I can make some choices and changes of my own each time, I feel I could keep going.

I'm not in the habit of copying the same painting several times in succession. Of course, I know some teachers recommend it, and I understand the purpose. Painting the same image a few times makes you more familiar with it and gives you a chance to adjust what didn't work well before.

But there's a condition: you need to be able to see the problem in the last painting and know what you intend to change in the next. For example, perhaps one part was too detailed and distracted from the subject, so next time you consciously paint a little less there. Then you're repainting to explore a specific problem.

Sometimes, though, your mind already knows what to change while your hands follow the old habits. You think it through clearly before you begin, but as you paint, you return to the familiar result.

“Between recognizing a problem and actually handling it differently in paint, there is still a distance that practice has to cover.”

So for people just starting to paint, I usually don't recommend spending two or three consecutive days on the same copy. Their daily painting time is limited already. They don't necessarily need to repeat this one immediately until they're satisfied.

If you already know the particular thing you want to change, painting it again is fine. But if you can't yet say what's wrong and only feel it's “not good enough,” starting over immediately isn't necessarily required.

Changing to another painting, looking at another approach, or returning after some time are choices too.

I also paint things repeatedly myself. When preparing demonstration classes in the past, I painted some works several times because I needed to paint while making the process clear. An action that feels natural in my hand may leave a student wondering why I did it. Painting and explaining it repeatedly beforehand helped me know more clearly what I would do next and where I needed to pause and explain.

“Painting something smoothly yourself and helping someone else understand it as they follow are two different things.”

With painting on location, I feel differently. The same subject can be painted in many ways. Today I might want more detail; next time I might simplify. Today I use warm colors, tomorrow I try cool ones, and another time I can make the colors more subjective.

The subject hasn't changed, but what I want to express can change each time. And that change isn't only a matter of swapping colors. Once there are fewer details, does the painting still retain what interested you? When the overall color changes, how does the feeling of the picture change? These are all worth painting to find out.

Subjective changes require accumulated experience too. I've mentioned before, when organizing a practice plan, that copying accomplished work at least gives you composition and color to refer to. Looking and practicing more create opportunities to make deliberate choices on location, rather than simply painting more smoothly because you happened to find an attractive scene.

For example, when copying, notice where the original keeps details and where it uses only a few broad areas of color. When facing your own subject later, try asking: what could I leave out here, and where would it be worth painting a little more? You don't have to transplant the look of the original, but you can try out the handling you've observed.

For me, painting the same subject several times in this way gives me more reason to continue. Each picture has something new I need to judge, and teaches me a little more about handling a painting.

If I'm required to reproduce exactly the same effect again and again, even if each attempt might be a little better, I don't enjoy it very much. I don't particularly like repetitive creation. That's a personal preference.

By comparison, I'd rather return to the same work after a week, half a month, or even a month. In between, I look at other things and paint other things. When I return, I sometimes find a fairly clear difference. Parts I once cared about may no longer need so much paint; relationships I hadn't noticed before may become visible this time.

That doesn't necessarily mean progress every time. I simply prefer this feeling of facing a painting afresh.

For me, painting is often a means of expression. What I enjoy is becoming absorbed in it and focusing on the paper in front of me. Not every painting needs to carry a clear training objective, and I certainly don't want to keep forcing myself to start over just to achieve a particular effect.

Of course, commercial work, commissions, or preparing for a competition are different situations. They have specific requirements. If several attempts still aren't satisfactory and more adjustment is needed, I understand that too.

So whether painting the same subject repeatedly becomes boring isn't determined only by how many times you've done it. What matters more to me is whether the next attempt offers something that makes me want to pick up the brush. Want to solve a specific problem? Paint it again. Want to try another color scheme or make different choices? Paint it again. But if the only reason is that learning to paint supposedly means practicing this one until it's good, I'd rather set it aside for now.

“Do you paint the same subject repeatedly? What makes you want to paint it again: the wish to paint it better, or something new you want to express?”

The views, experiences, and final judgments in this article are the author's. AI assisted with organizing the text.