A few years ago, I went to an Open Studios event in Portland, Oregon where there were over 50 artists available to talk with the public. I made sure to ask each artist I met how they considered their painting to be finished. This is a very tough question to ask, especially if you are really wanting to make a strong painting. The following are the responses I got from each person:
-When there is nothing else you can add to it
-When my wife takes it away
-When nothing else can be added to make it even better
-It looks good hung in my dining room
-I have to put it away for a few weeks and not look at it. When I look at it again I can’t think of anything else I would like to add.
-When I view my painting next to other paintings I love, including ones I made
-Looks like it was fun and it was easy to paint
-It has the shadow of a God (originally quoted from Rembrandt)
I still struggle to know when my paintings are completed, but these quotes definitely helped me. The beautiful thing about all of this is, even with so many professional painters, there never is a clear-cut answer for when a painting is complete.
