I love to re-use canvases. I use cotton. Stretch my own, gesso twice, don't sand and tone with a neutral brown wash. I use oil paint. When I was just starting out, with not much money for supplies, I thought re-using a canvas was amateurism. But after half a lifetime painting and finding some of the greats have re-used canvas ( multiple times) I've lost the mental stigma of re-use and since found I like the texture I get from a re-used surface. Even after sanding, the new paint skips and drags in such a way as to add more texture. As for transparency, I've never found that a problem. I can't think of one time when I'd hang my paintings in front of a light source anyway. It's a non-issue. In the old days paint and canvas were hard things to come by for artists. Wealthy patrons like Royals or the Church would commission a painting and the upfront money would buy the supplies for the work. They had to grind the pigment, add oil and mix just enough for the immediate moment. They couldn't store paint like we can today because the tube wasn't invented yet. I've read stories about commissions being rejected. What was the artist to do with the canvas? He re-used it and sold it to someone else with the old image underneath. It was done all the time. I believe it's the reason alternative surfaces came into use. Painting on wood for instance. Cheap and readily available. Galleries today x-ray old masters and routinely find multiple images. In fact these paintings seem to be more valuable because of it. If I should have such good fortune after my death, to have my work on the auction block and they x-ray the canvases, they will have a field day. Every profession re-uses their supplies. Writers, re-use paper, carpenters break down old jobs and re-use the wood. Why wouldn't an artist do the same? I'd say conservatively half my old work now lies under many of my newer sold pieces. Unless you are among the fortunate few who become successful out of the gate it's too expensive to discard your "sins".

So what is a "real" artist, John (Ferrie)? Picasso certainly reused canvases - sometimes several times - and I think you would have to admit that he is a "real" artist. And I'm not even sure if that creme brulée would be so much worse off with an egg in it. Maybe it would stop being a creme brulée (but no one would know or even care) and the chef would rename it - call it a sweet omelette or pancake, use it as a cake filling.... He would not chuck it out while thinking to himself: "I'm a real chef so I throw good ingredients away."

I have to agree with Faith and say that I find John Ferrie's comments rather arrogant. I purposely paint multiple layers on my abstract paintings and love the richness of texture and colour that emerge. I also have no difficulty painting over old paintings. Clients also seem to love the results and often comment on the wonderful hints that emerge from below the surface. To me the resulting paintings are a metaphor for human life and even the life of the land, where generations and centuries are often hidden and only come to light with study and careful observation. I should say that I also paint preplanned, single layer, flat very graphic paintings and would never paint one of them over another painting because the previous brushwork would clash with the single layered image. Different strokes for different folks, John.

Having been in one of Mary Wood's classes years ago in Southampton, I have seen her layer and transform a merely ordinary painting into a multi-layered, almost three-dimensional truly original work...watercolour and mixed water media in this case. An inspiration -- and Mary, I hope you're still taking those great leaps of painterly faith!

I'm totally at a loss here as far as having much experience at this dilema. I am one that believes each piece was created for a purpose. Something about that subject inspired you, so you created it. It deserves to have its own life. So you don't particularly like its outcome. Show it around first, get others' opinions. Look at it for a time, hanging in your kitchen. You will be surprised how many will like what you dislike. I watch my artist friends endlessly paint over their work. What a shame. Now if you are just doing studies for larger works, or just playing around, expect mess-ups and don't do it on your good materials. I use pre-primed canvases, I've yet to use gesso for anything. I've been painting for over 35 years.

I sculpt in stone and metal, so I can't speak to the canvas issue, only to the process of manipulating material, expressing something called art. Metal is somewhat forgiving, stone is not. With stone, my exploration is done through drawings and time, lots of time studying the rock. Even with that, the rock will often reveal its hidden self, exert its will, change my direction, sometimes in a surprising discovery. These are "ah ha" moments. Early on, I would become discouraged when I miss-hit or misread the stone. Now I see it as part of the process. What changed? My perception. What has this to do with the canvas debate? Nothing. I just love that artists can discuss any aspect of their work and soon enough it will turn to a heated debate. No right or wrong, just passion. There is no artist without passion, only art. An English professor once told me, 'Write the best way you can, the rest is your business.' Useful advice in any artistic pursuit.

I agree with some of the other comments that an artist can and should reuse old canvases. I guess if you paint so tight that you can not have a tiny bump peeking through from the underpainting then you should stick to fresh new canvas each time out! I believe a great painting is loose, vague in certain places with great beauty created by little skips of the brush with thick paint across the canvas. Some of my best paintings were done over other paintings. Sometimes I have not even scrubbed a gray across the painting to cover the under painting but just painted over it. What a treat that is, but you should at least turn the underpainting upside down when doing this. No white showing through but unique color traces that enhance the new painting. I love it!

I'm concerned about the earlier comment on the flexibility of Golden gesso. My understanding is that is the problem with acrylic gesso under oil. With the ground being more flexible than the paint layers, the paint has a tendency to crack and even peel off of the canvas. Is my information wrong on this? If so where do I find the correct research to disprove the earlier info?

I love the names of certain sized canvases, see above – do you have any other poetic names for other canvas sizes? I love the name "Double Elephant" for a particular watercolour sheet.

Just a note for Wayne Hooker; I read a similar quote a while back except that it stated "Write the best you can, the rest is NOT your business." I have found this philosophy to be true in my own work. Last year I was about to abandon a pastel I had worked on for a week or so as I wasn't sure of the direction it was going in but a friend urged me to continue in this somewhat uncharted territory and I did "my best" with it. I ended up liking it well enough to consider keeping it so at an outdoor art show I put a high price tag on it thinking no one would spend that kind of money. It sold almost immediately and two more people who had seen it came back wanting to buy it.

Wow! I am so thrilled I had the momentary flash to add your newsletter yesterday!!! Today's note caused my review of other articles and it has been the best companion of upliftment with my coffee this morning~ Thankyou so very much...I love it!

Some if not all paintings need time to mature. No skilled watercolourist would leave a painting at the draft stage. It often takes many layers to achieve depth and skill to know when saturation point has been reached (especially important with oil pastels!). Certainly, oil paintings develop through scumbling and glazing and other techniques applied in layers. Why not use a discarded canvas (whatever reason the artist may have had for rejecting the previous work) even and especially if it bears a record of surface "maturity"? People spend oodles of cash on various thickeners, cements and gels to slap on texture and create effects. Acrylics have provided choices undreamt of a century ago. I expect I am no exception when I admit that many of my paintings have an "undergrowth" of leftover paint from my palette and are not seldom born of a previous effort or deliberate "doodling" and experimentation. It's often useful to start with a layer of complementary colour to achieve splendid depth in a painting. While I agree that some pristine white or pastel backgrounds cannot easily emerge from a previously coloured surface, and you cannot easily reflatten a raised area once it is there, I'm quite sure that many many paintings have emerged thanks to rather than despite what was already on the canvas.

Dear Mary and Faith, If you're painting abstract paintings, then who cares what is coming through from a painting before. And as far as eating creme brulee made with a rotten egg, go ahead, I'll wait for the second batch. And just so we are clear, I am a "real" artist, I live in my studio, I went to art school, I work as an artist everyday and it has come to define me. You might have actually known that if you had hit the link to my 300 page website that is linked to my comment. While I do not consider myself "arrogant", I am self assured when it comes to the quality and integrity of being an artist.

Maybe we all should stop telling each other how to make "proper" art. Not all art is intended to last for centuries, not all art is concerned over every bump and ridge. It all depends on the artist's intention. Too much traditional thinking can blind one to possibilities. We live in an era concerned about recycling and reusing materials as much as possible. The next "big wave" just might be a lot of art made mostly from recycled stuff. I think each artist should follow their own heart and not be so concerned over what others say. Physical life in this world is frail and so is art. Some artists may even intend the falling apart of a constellation to be part of the process. And yes, many masters have painted many paintings on one canvas and never suffered from one showing thru except when x-rayed. If one paints over old paintings maybe one needs to handle the process differently and use thicker layers of paint. I think an artist who deals with this dilemma would figure out how to go about it by themselves. I personally tend to change composition while painting and this has never affected the outcome negatively. I consider any bumbs and texture that show thru from the underpainting to be part of the history of the painting as a totality. And no buyer of my paintings has ever complained.

I always paint over paintings I am dissatisfied with. I simply utilize the color and design of the old painting with the new painting, so it is incorporated as part of the new painting. Some of my most satisfactory work are paintings I've done this way. The underneath color adds depth and mystery. The underneath design is incorporated with my new design. I have made my livelihood with my art for many years, so have done this many times. I see no need to discard "failed" work---not because I can't afford a new canvas, but because I love the challenge of making the failure into a success. Roberta

Nothin' gormless about Gormley. Spend a couple of hours checking out his collection on-line and give up art altogether. Note though that Gormley has been working hard regardless of our appreciation or non-appreciation of him - is this a true artist?

This talk of creme brulee is making my mouth water! Mary and Faith, next time you are in a fine restaurant or on a cruise order one and you'll love it. John, fine artist that you are, go out and have one soon - you deserve it! The thing I love about this site is there are many points of view on every subject presented and I can always find someone to aline with mine. P.S. Turn a plugged nose to rotten eggs.

If you are sanding down canvases and you have used Cadmium paints, be sure to use extreme caution. Cadmium pigments, when in dust form and inhaled, are a health risk. Better to just buy new canvas.

If I am in a creative rut I take an older or even a more current painting that hasn't worked out and begin painting. I have found that this helps me to jump start the creative process. Acrylic paint enables me to work over paintings without having to worry about fat over lean, etc. I usually work on pre-stretched canvases which are a meduim weight. If I am painting a landscape there can be unwanted textures from the previous painting even with light sanding. I do my best to incorporate them into the new painting. I have found that with the standard pre-stretched canvases, there is only so much paint they can hold before you create a 'dead-zone'. I define a dead zone as an area of the painting were the canvas texture is completely filled in and you end up with a plastic look and cannot really put down any more paint. To avoid this I keep myself aware of how much paint I am putting down.I will also make use of gloss medium to extend the paint without adding volume.I read at the Golden web site that many pre-stretched canvases are not holding up too well.Some of the companies making them are cutting corners on quality. I try to buy heavier weight canvas which have the excess canvas stapled to the back.

The more texture the better for me, I'd never think of burning a canvas, though I have burned pastel drawings on newsprint or brown craft paper in ceremony to release the energy given in the piece to the world. This gesture of love was not because it was a mistake, or a bad drawing, only that it was my best one and if love could be spread this way then it went out as a prayer of touching hands with one another. If the mind could be open enough to receive such a gift then it was upon the winds. If not, then it made some ash that returned to the earth where it came from, the earth receives her own. It's all about giving and accepting the gifts. The well never runs dry, dip in today and see for yourself. The more you give the more you have to give. loveyaschar

Why throw used canvases away? Paint over them. I find great pleasure in painting over dreadful "starving artists" paintings bought in thrift stores for a few dollars and the frames are not bad either...I use a tinted wash to bring them around. People have commented asking how I got the dense texture in my oil paintings...my secret... recycle... go green!

Just a note regarding someone mentioning that painting in acrylics need not be concerned with "fat over lean" rule. I have noticed that painting a layer of very "lean" acrylic (a naturally very lean red oxide slightly diluted with water), over an acrylic layer which was mixed with some gloss acrylic medium, produced tiny bubbles that dried as small holes all over the painted area. I take this as a violation of "fat over lean" so I make sure that upper layers contain more acrylic medium (especially for the dry pigments) than the lower layers. Perhaps this can be used as an intended effect, but I am not sure what could happen over a long period of time - the bubbles may be a sign of poor adhesion and the whole thing may crack or peel in the future.

Acrylic is a relatively new medium and there is no extensive knowledge base about the archival issues - maybe we can start a database based on artist's experiences?

Regarding painting over old canvases, I have found the following to be true: if the new painting is a thick, textural work then go for it. A previously painted surface is nice to paint on - less absorbent, and bits of the old painting can show through, as others have mentioned. However, if you paint in a smoother style, you'll probably regret it, not because the color shows through, but because the lines do. This has happened to me more than once, and always to a painting I really like. I find that in spite of sanding and scraping, lines on canvas are really hard to get rid of. I've seen it too, in the art of some well known painters, where in an area that should be a smooth creamy sky for example, you can see the faint outline of a previous mountain or a former tree! Sometimes this is only apparent in the right lighting, like under a gallery spotlight. So I save the unsuccessful paintings for thick, abstract work, or I toss the failure and re-use the stretcher bars, or I cut it up, and re-stretch the part I like. All three techniques have worked for me.

To Karen Sampson: I guess the philosophy could work either way, but I write to publish. And "what" I write is my business, but "how" I write is the editor's (and ultimately the reader's) business. They can't tell me how to write but they do decide if my work sells or not based on my ability. Actually, your comments seem to bear that out. We write, paint, sculpt, the best we can, and it is for others to judge--not the theme, but the quality--based on their subjective reasoning. In other words, no matter what the message, the artist's work is ultimately at the mercy of the audience.