She Was Asked to Redo Several Handmade Paintings Just So They’d Match. She Quietly Doesn’t Want to Spend the Time
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Creative gifts carry emotional meaning that can make requests for alterations feel more personal than intended.
A young painter spent years completing four Ninja Turtle portraits, then agreed to redo two for her father’s office aesthetic.
That promise came despite hurt feelings, deep reluctance, and a long history of struggling to tell him no.
Now she wants to withdraw without explaining why.
WIBTA if I say no to re-making gifts after years.
I, 22 F, painted the four ninja turtles for my dad as Christmas gifts.
I painted one of them when I was in high school, and every year since then, he’s gotten another, and now he has all four.
But these paintings were painstakingly detailed.
Each one took me hours and days to do because of tiny details.
They were meant as gifts; it wasn’t a set project thing.
However, the father has a request…
My dad just asked me today if I can re-do two of them because they aren’t the right size canvas (by 1 inch) or because the one is horizontal and not vertical.
These were gifts that I worked really hard on.
I told him, yes, I’d do them again for him, but I really don’t want to.
In fact, this really bothers the daughter.
I didn’t want to cry and tell him how much that hurt my feelings that he wants different ones.
He’s never been one to accept a “no” from me, I was never allowed to stand up for myself when it came to him.
What do I do? I don’t want to do them at all. He wants them changed just so that they will fit a specific aesthetic that he’s going for in his office.
She also feels like her sister will disregard the old paintings.
He also said he would give one of the “old ones” to my younger sister, who will just throw it in a closet and never look at it again, just like she’s done to many paintings I’ve made before.
I’m stuck.
Would I be a jerk to just say no now?
Is this daughter in the right for feeling frustrated by her dad’s request? Let’s read Reddit’s opinions below.
Everyone had different opinions on the matter.
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But some Redditors noted that they needed to communicate clearly.
And others understood why she was hurt.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a brother who is upset his parents bought his recovering sister a brand-new car but wouldn’t help him out with a used one.
One Redditor said going back on her word was the real issue.
Her father’s request may have felt insensitive, but she agreed instead of honestly explaining that remaking hours of artwork would hurt and overwhelm her.
Commenters focused on that avoidable miscommunication, since silently reversing course would punish him for feelings he hasn’t been told about.
She painted four turtles but still hasn’t mastered the art of saying no.
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