There are two trains of thought here...revisiting the same subject again and again can lead to boring repetition and stagnation. This is a repeat of the same painting over and over with only slight variation. Sometimes artists believe it to be a 'successful formula', or 'what they are known for', especially if this belief is founded on sales, but I think this eventually has a deadening effect to an artist's work, as the paintings no longer excite the viewer, because they have 'seen them before'....and ultimately the sales dry up.
However, if the repetition of a subject is spaced out in a painter's development, where they occasionally revisit a subject, they are able to combine their familiarity with the new skills, dexterity and developments in technique achieved since they last considered painting it. This leads to new and exciting developments and charts progress. So to revisit familiar subjects with some restraint can lead to exciting consequences…….
