How do you know when a painting is finished?

My studio full of mostly finished paintings, awaiting the fall show at West End Gallery.

How do you know when a painting is finished? This question runs through my head a lot, especially this time of year when I am finishing up my paintings for the West End Gallery show. An exhibit takes a lot of planning. I need to finish applying paint about a month before the show so that the paintings have time to dry before the final layer of Retouch Varnish. Then they need another week or so before the varnish is dry enough for the painting to be framed. My calendar is all marked up with self-imposed deadlines.
One way to know when to stop working on a painting is a firm deadline like an exhibit. I could keep fussing away at small details in my paintings, but time will not allow it. Instead, I stand back, look at them from a distance, or reverse in a mirror, and say to myself "It's finished." This requires turning off the critical perfectionist part of me and focusing on the big picture.
Here are some questions I ask myself to help decide if a painting is finished:

• "What is the main idea I want to communicate in this painting, and have I achieved that?" 
• "Is there anything about the painting that is catching my eye in a distracting way?" 
• "Do I like it?" 
• "Will continuing to work on this painting help or hurt?

When I teach and give Artist Talks I get the question of "how do you know when to stop?" a lot. I wish the answer could be simple. Deadlines do help. Otherwise, you just need to ask yourself if you are achieving what you set out to do, and if continuing to work on the painting/artwork will help or hurt. Sometimes a partially finished painting has a fresh vibrant quality that more time and layers of paint will destroy. This painting of Peonies below is a good example of that.

Painting Peonies from life in June.

This painting was painted on multimedia board. You can see the board and the first layers of paint showing through in the brightest spots on the right side. The multi media board gives a watercolor-like effect in the first few layers of paint. I love the freshness of the beginning and middle stages of a painting. Sometimes, by the time I finish, I wish I could rewind to this stage.

Cloud Study plein air painting.

This Cloud study painting was done en plein air, meaning in the open air. It took me about two hours painting on location at a friend's home on Keuka Lake, NY. There's a spontaneity to plein air paintings that I love. If I were to work on it more at home in the studio, I would lose some of that fresh feeling. So I declared this painting finished when it was time to pack up and go home.

Work in progress during the Marty Poole workshop at 171 Cedar Arts Center

I started the above painting in a workshop with Marty Poole at 171 Cedar Arts Center this past June. This photo was taken at the end of the two-day workshop. I'm happy with the progress I made during the workshop and plan to leave this painting in its semi-finished state. I might work a little more on the apple in the girl's hand, making that the focus of the painting. Other than that, I think I will leave the sketch lines of the under-painting in the bottom half. During the workshop, Marty talked about pushing through the hard stages of a painting and not just giving up. It's at this point in the painting process that you really learn and grow.


The question of when to stop working on a painting, or any project, is an age old question. You can apply it to many areas of your life. How do you know when to make a change? How do you truly know when you're ready? Sometimes you just have to dive in and go for it. Only you can know when time is right.

Happy painting,
Bridget

P.S. See all of my finished paintings at West End Gallery this fall. "Nature's Light" Opens September 9th with a reception from 5:00 - 7:30 pm. This is a two person show with the fabulous work of Brian Keeler. The show will be on view through October 14, 2016.