There are paintings I finish and immediately know I should leave alone.
And then there are others that continue quietly asking for my attention.
Over the past few weeks, I found myself returning to several paintings from my GeoFlora series, works I had considered finished, but never completely forgotten. I wasn’t interested in correcting them so much as listening to what they still seemed to be asking for. I approached them intuitively, responding to colour, atmosphere and balance, allowing each one to move toward what felt right to me now.
What emerged was not one single kind of transformation, but several.
Blue in Bloom
The most dramatic transformation was a painting previously titled Baby Blue.
The original was brighter, lighter and more playful. As I returned to it, I gradually covered much of that earlier palette and introduced deeper indigo, violet, misty blue-grey and white. The painting became more atmospheric and expansive, as though the field were dissolving into light and air.
At a certain point, it was clear that it was no longer Baby Blue.
It had become Blue in Bloom.
I’m also very happy to share that Blue in Bloom is now on display at Galerie NuEdge in Montreal.
Rose Afterglow
Another substantial reworking began with a painting formerly titled Plum Fantasy.
As I worked back into it, the composition shifted into something softer and more spacious. A deep magenta field developed along the lower portion, while above it, a pale mauve-blush atmosphere began to open. The mood changed with it. What had once felt more energetic and floral became quieter, more luminous and more reflective.
Its new title is Rose Afterglow.
Wild Blush
The transformation of Pretty in Pink also led to a completely new identity.
This painting became warmer, earthier and a little more untamed. Blush pink now meets rust, black, olive and deeper tones, giving the lower field more depth and tension while keeping a soft, luminous space above. The earlier title no longer felt like it belonged to the painting that had emerged.
It is now Wild Blush.
Midnight Moss
Midnight Moss took a quieter route.
Rather than becoming an entirely new painting, it received a lighter refresh. I refined the colour balance and introduced softer blue-grey tones among the mauve, moss green, white and charcoal. The changes helped bring the atmosphere closer to where I wanted it to be, while preserving the essential character of the piece.
The painting still felt very much like itself and so did its original title.
So Midnight Moss remains Midnight Moss.
Letting paintings have another life
Returning to older work can feel a little strange.
There is always a temptation to preserve a painting simply because it was once finished, once photographed, once shared. But sometimes distance changes the way I see. Time can reveal another possibility not because the earlier painting was wrong, but because something in it had not yet fully arrived.
That is what this return to GeoFlora has reminded me of.
The earlier work is still there, underneath. It remains part of the painting’s history. But another version was waiting to emerge.
Beyond the studio
This period of reworking has unfolded alongside some welcome gallery news.
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I’m delighted to share that Cottage Garden has sold through Galerie NuEdge in Montreal. |
NuEdge has also asked to add Morning Kiss to the gallery, where it will join Blue in Bloom. |
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I was also happy to see Mélodie Verte featured by Rise Art in its New This Week collection.
And three small paintings from my GeoHorizon series, Tideline, Winter Coast and Sandbar, are now available exclusively through UGallery.
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It has been a season of movement: paintings changing in the studio, paintings finding new homes, and others beginning a new chapter elsewhere.
For me, though, the heart of this story remains those four GeoFlora paintings.
Sometimes a painting is finished.
And sometimes it is only finished for now.