As I’ve said before, and will probably continue to emphasize, never get too attached to your paintings exactly the way that they are. Realize that they can, and probably should, change a lot on the canvas before you are ‘done’ with them.

Of course, that can take considerable effort. But sometimes there’s an easier fix for a problematic painting than having to go in and rearrange the whole composition. There are times when all you have to do is rotate the canvas to its side, and somehow, the painting just seems to resolve itself, and requires a lot less work to complete.

And if you’re one of those artists who gets too attached to their work and feel weird changing up your painting too much… be on the lookout, because I can guarantee that several times during critiques with your professors, they will flip your painting upside down, and it will be turned into something completely different.