Artists can change their work — Art, 4–6
A first attempt is not a promise that nothing may change. You can look again, add, remove or try another way until your idea becomes clearer.
What changing your work means
Making art can be a path with turns, not one quick action. You can notice something you want to keep, then change one part that is not saying what you meant. Adding, rubbing out, moving or trying again are all real parts of making art.
Why artists revise
The picture in your head and the marks on the paper do not always match on the first try. Artists change their work to solve that problem, or to discover a better idea while making it. This grew from the simple need to make an image, object, song or movement say more clearly what was intended.
Change a picture step by step
Draw a house with one small window. Look at it and decide the window is hard to see. First, add a dark frame; next, make the window bigger; then add two curtains. The house is still your drawing, but three small changes made the part you cared about easier to notice.
Changing is not ruining
You may fear that rubbing out or adding to a picture will spoil the part you already like. That fear is reasonable because some marks cannot be removed completely. Change one small area first, keep a part you like, and remember that a new version can teach you something even if it is not perfect.
Changing art outside school
Illustrators sketch several versions before a book picture is finished, and dancers repeat a movement to make it clearer. A cook can change the shape or decoration of a cake too. When you move a toy, add a detail to a card or try a song again, you are using the same artist’s habit.
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