How Do You Know When a Painting is Finished?

'Dream Catcher'                9x12               pastel                  ©Karen Margulis
available $175

 Art is never finished, only abandoned.

Leonardo da Vinci

I came across this old demo painting (below) this week and it called to be finished. It was part of a lesson on seeing big shapes. I don't remember if I thought it was finished at the time but even if I did I could see now that it really was not finished. It was abandoned. But now with years of painting practice under my belt I could see what it needed.

This brings up a question we often ask ....how do we know when we are finished? And if art is never finished then aren't we in trouble?   

A better question is How do we know when to stop? The usual answer I hear is that we should stop when we have said all there is to say....or when we don't know what another mark will add to the painting.  Stop. 

Have a look at the original version of the painting. I am pretty sure that several years ago when I painted this I thought I was finished. I had made my point about simple shapes and I like my bold marks. But as we paint and learn and grow we also change. I looked at the painting now with different eyes. I felt that it looked unfinished. It needed more clarity. I have learned to slow down and be more deliberate about final marks. So I gave myself permission to work on it and now the new version pleases me more and I knew it was time to stop. 

Who knows how I will feel about the painting after a few more years but for now it tells the story of the shapes of the desert and I don't know what more I would add.  That was an interesting exercise and an eye opener about the idea of finishing a painting.