Repairing Stacked Serenity: A Quiet Re-Do

You may be wondering how I’m doing with the patching of the painting Stacked Serenity. I was making steady progress when the holidays arrived, which is usually when good intentions get carefully set aside. The painting waited.

After Christmas, I returned and finished the repair. The canvas had torn earlier, and I had already filled the damage with gesso, so sanding wasn’t a creative choice—just the next required step. Matt located 220-grit sandpaper, and after a slight sanding, it was ready for paint.

I started with the sky—light blue and white. It still may not be right. I’m sitting with it for a while, which usually means pretending I’m not thinking about it while thinking about it constantly. The patch changed the canvas in subtle ways, and the oddness hasn’t fully decided what it wants to be yet. I may add another bird to help settle things. Not as a solution exactly, more as a negotiation. Sometimes a painting just needs one more quiet presence to redirect attention.

Stacked Serenity patched and sanded.

Stacked Serenity with sky painted.

Stacked Serenity with water and rocks painted.

Once the sky was in place, I moved on to the water and the rocks. The patch offered a practical re-do, free from commentary about whether progress was being covered up. After touching up the water and rocks, I adjusted the surrounding stones, adding a little more character. Not to disguise the past, but to bring the area back into conversation with the rest of the painting.

Repaired Stacked Serenity

Stacked Serenity has changed slowly over time. Earlier decisions are still there, layered beneath the surface, quietly doing their work. The repair didn’t erase years of progress—it just lets the painting keep speaking in its own voice. And if it happens to mutter a little about the odd bird I might add, well… that’s fine too.