When is a Painting Finished?
There are at least two tricky aspects to any painting. The first is is getting started, and the second is knowing when to stop.
A question pretty much every artist ever, has had to contend with is
Is my painting finished?
7 tips to help you figure out if your painting is finished
Knowing whether your painting is finished is subjective and personal. As true as that may be, it is not particularly helpful if you are in the midst of trying to figure out whether to stop painting or keep going.
Here are 7 tips that might help you figure out if your painting is finished or not.
If you are asking the question, the answer is usually yes.
The chances are that if you have the slightest inkling that you might be done you probably are. In fact, I have heard the advice that you should stop half an hour before you think you might be done.
Do you find that helpful?
I can’t say I do, since I only know I might be done when I might be done so without a time machine I am not sure how I might actually use this advice….
What I do take from it is a strong reinforcement of the sentiment that if there is the slightest possibility in your mind that you might be done, you probably are.
When it feels right
Painting is an instinctual business. It’s art, not science after all.
Many artists explain that it is just a feeling, a gut instinct that you are done. This is important I think. Part of the appeal of making art in the first place - at least to my mind - is that you get a chance to practice trusting your own inner voice.
If you have the a sense of completion, a feeling of satisfaction then your painting is definitely finished.
Are the the things you add making the painting better or worse?
There comes a point in the painting process when you are making tiny adjustments to your work. A firmer line here, a softer edge there, perhaps reinforcing a dark value.
Eventually there comes a time when you realise that the adjustments you are making are no longer making the painting better. If you are fiddling for the sake of fiddling and the marks you add are going to make the painting worse not better, it is most certainly time to stop.
Is your subject recognisable?
When you begin a painting you have a subject in mind.
One of the best ways, in my opinion, to know when you are done is the moment the subject is recognisable. Personally I love a loose approach rather than a hyper realistic one. For me, as soon as the subject is obvious the painting has said all it needs to say.
Only you know your intended subject. If you are going for a realistic portrait you are finished when you see the likeness you are hoping for. I think this is more difficult than if you are primarily painting a mood, a feeling, an emotion. If these things are your intended subject then how can you really go wrong?
Try the mirror test
It is a curious thing, but if you hold your painting up to a mirror and see it in reverse, all sorts of things that you didn’t notice before pop out at you. It is like getting a fresh pair of eyes. Proportions seem to appear slightly different and I think putting a bit of distance between you and the painting is also accountable for this fresh view offered by the mirror.
Even without the mirror, standing well back from the painting gives you a renewed perspective from which to assess the progress you are making with your painting.
Take a photo
In a similar vein, you might want to get out your phone and snap a few photos of your painting. Seeing the painting through the lens of the camera tends to focus your attention in a different way. It might be partly that distance thing again.
Try it and see for yourself.
Walk Away
By the time you get towards the end of your painting there is sometimes a feeling of not being able to see the wood for the trees. Sometimes it can be an intense (but fun, of course!) process. That might mean that you have been too close to it for too long and just need to walk away for a bit.
Take a bit of a break and come back to the painting with fresh eyes. That might make it easier to make a confident declaration that your painting is in fact finished.
But what if you don’t stop painting?
The fear of not stopping when your painting is in fact finished is that you might ‘ruin’ your painting by overworking it.
Is that really so bad?
If you are wondering whether to stop but are still enjoying painting and have some ideas to still add to the painting I think you should go right ahead. If you do end up thinking that you have ruined the painting, surely you will just paint another? It is the actual painting part - the process I mean - that we love, not the finished product, that we really enjoy.
At the end of the day every painting is really an experiment. It's in playing and trying new things that we learn so I think any sort of fear that stops us from feeling that spirit of play and experimentation is unhelpful. We have to learn to be able to trust our instincts and I think that just comes from experience.
Let’s do more painting and less judging.
In Conclusion…
Answering the question of when your painting is finished is something each artist has to figure out for themselves. My final answer is that a painting finished is when you the painter declare it to be so.
You are, after all, the boss of your painting you have every right to leave it half incomplete or to entirely overwork it and decide to start again.
The most important thing in my opinion is just to keep painting and make sure you're enjoying the process.
Are you on your own painting journey?
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