The Art of Erasing: Why I Gessoed Over a Finished Painting

There’s a moment in every artist’s journey when silence becomes louder than the canvas itself.

Recently, I took a brush loaded with thick white gesso and erased a beautiful abstract Gallery painting that once held meaning, color, time—and maybe even a bit of my ego. I destroyed one of my own artworks, not out of frustration or defeat, but out of something more powerful: possibility.

I’m J.E. Hannum, an oil painter based in Tri-Cities, Washington. My work exists somewhere between realism and colorful abstraction—between the seen and the deeply felt. I paint to challenge boundaries, not just of style or subject, but of what it means to make art at all. And sometimes, that means unmaking it.

Erasing a finished gallery painting by J.E. Hannum

Why I Covered It Up

The painting I gessoed over wasn’t bad. In fact, it was a piece I displayed at my 2024 Exhibition at the Allied Arts Gallery at the Park in Richland, Wa. This was a lovely piece of art and I know It would have sold but I decided to destroy it. I wasen't completely sold on this pieve. I thought it was missing something and I want to create a masterpieve. I'm not satisfied with mediocrisy. It had become a mirror of old thoughts, a piece created in a different headspace, and I wasn’t willing to hang onto that version of myself.

So, I painted over it— as an act of destruction and ultimate liberation. In that moment, I let go of perfection, expectation, and even sentimentality. What’s left now is a blank surface charged with creative potential, like an echo waiting to take form.

A Bold leap into Something New

Now that the old painting is gone, I’m ready to begin something entirely new: an abstract realism piece that pushes further into emotional depth, color tension, and facial expression—what I’m known for.

This new painting won’t sit quietly. It will be bold. It will be mysterious. And it will carry the spirit of what came before, even if the image is gone. That’s the magic of layering, of painting over: nothing is ever really erased. It becomes part of the foundation.

Breaking the Rules, Breaking the Surface

Artists are often told to “never give up on a painting.” But what if giving up is exactly what a piece needs to become its fullest self?

I’m not here to follow rules. I’m here to break through. Whether it’s glazing over realism with abstraction or silencing a canvas with gesso to make space for something louder, I believe in art that confronts, transforms, and redefines.

Join Me in the Process

I’ve documented the destruction of the old piece and will be sharing the journey of creating the new one on my YouTube channel and Instagram. If you’ve ever felt torn between saving a piece and starting over, you’re not alone.

Sometimes, the most powerful thing an artist can do… is begin again.