The Conundrum of Finishing a Painting

Painting can be tricky.

I’m not talking about the applying paint to the canvas, or making something look the way you want it… Those are whole other issues. I’m talking about how you can work on a painting four days, weeks, months, even years, and still not be finished.

Take this painting for instance… I've been working on it for at least a year and a half. I know this because I remember starting it in my studio on Teller St, and I haven't been in that studio for over a year.

Actually, it's a lot longer than that because underneath this painting is another unfinished painting that I started MANY years ago!

So... when I say I've been working on it for years, that usually means I may work on in every few months. It means that I've had an unfinished painting sitting around my studio(s) for years. Taunting me.

I'm just going to put this out there: It's good to work on a painting from start to finish. That doesn't mean you should finish it in one sitting, it just means that you should work on in consistently until you're done.

Reasons to work on a painting from start to finish:

1. You can keep your original vision intact.

We sometimes abandon a painting when it gets difficult or when we don't know what the next move is, but that's when we should really dig in. Take a break, yes, by all means! But make it a short one, and come back and dig into it. Once you lose that original vision it's hard to find again.

2. Color mixes.

When you abandon your painting, you may forget what colors you used. Yes, I tell my students to take good notes, but even those can get lost in the shuffle when you abandon a painting.

3. Momentum

Once that momentum slows down, it can be hard to generate again. Ride it while it's high!

4. No one wants a bunch of unfinished projects around!

Trust me on this one! I must have dozens of unfinished paintings around, and it really is an energy drain. Once you finish a painting, you can get it off of your mind. Otherwise it's taking up real estate - physical and mental!

I have a new rule: I must finish two paitings before I can start a new one. (Paintings for classes excepted, of course.) Hopefully you'll see a whole bunch of newly finished paintings soon! 

So how do I know when a painting is finsihed? That's a subject for another day!