The Truth a Painting Tells in the Painting Process

There’s a myth that artists always know where a painting is going. This is false. Sometimes we only know where it isn’t going and even that realization usually arrives late, after a considerable amount of confidence, planning, and unnecessary commitment.

Painting over a finished section feels reckless at first. Wasteful. Slightly tragic. You can almost hear a tiny voice whispering, But you already worked so hard on that. There’s guilt involved too, as if the paint itself is keeping score. But more often than not, painting over a section isn’t an act of destruction. It is an act of clarity. The painting reveals what it doesn’t want to be long before it ever hints at what it wants to become.

Starting over doesn’t erase the work; it absorbs it. Every brushstroke that disappears leaves information behind, about color, balance, timing, and restraint. Layers stack up quietly, like the hidden brushstrokes beneath Picasso’s La Miséreuse Accroupie, lending depth and authority to whatever eventually emerges. He didn’t shy away from painting over another artist’s work, incorporating elements he liked, and then painting over his own corrections. The canvas remembers even when the image doesn’t.

Pablo Picasso painting that began life as a painting from another artist.

This is the part no one tells you. Progress in the painting process is rarely visible while it’s happening. Sometimes the most important decision is the one that looks like a mistake from the outside. The moment you stop forcing a painting to behave, to match the original plan, the reference photo, or the brilliant idea you announced out loud, is often the moment it starts telling the truth.

And occasionally that truth is very clear. It says, No humans. Try again.

When that happens, it’s best to listen.

Sometimes the canvas refuses to cooperate. Sometimes you paint over everything you love. And sometimes, that’s exactly what it takes to find the truth. What stubborn masterpieces have taught you to let go?

Thanks for reading The 3rd Flamingo, a blog for art lovers, creative wanderers, and anyone who’s ever made a beautiful mess.