The most dangerous time in my
painting process is the finishing stage. That last hour or so when I need to
decide what to leave in and what to take out. The time of final corrections,
the addition of highlights and accents that can only be added at this stage.
When I reach this point, strange as
it sounds, I find I’m not seeing the painting as a whole presentation anymore.
After working intensely for hours, my focus has slowly shifted to the
individual elements and I could be heading for trouble. I have to force myself
to stop, put the brush down and leave my studio for awhile. And often that
isn’t easy. I’m tired and I want to finish. “Just one more stroke. Let me fix
that spot, etc.” ….. Here comes trouble.
A successful painting is a sum of
all it’s elements all working together, balancing and complementing each other.
All working together to support the story line or focal point. When you begin
to concentrate on each element separately you risk throwing the whole painting
off balance. A few times I have gone beyond the point of no return and had no
choice but to wipe the whole painting away. Frustrating! Especially when it had
a good start and I just couldn’t stop fiddling.
Now I try to keep reminding myself
of what my painting is about and ask if the element I am working on is
important or a distraction. Discipline!
The most important element in your studio.
Three quotes that I read a long
time ago and need to bear in mind.
- “A painting is finished when you have simplified or taken out all you can.”
- “If it looks good, leave it alone. Trying to make it better never works.”
- “Working in stages lets the paint dry and your brain rest.”
I can relate, and don't know of a hard and fast rule for answering the question, "Is it finished?" Each piece, in my experience, brings its own criteria for that. But those are some pretty good quotes.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Al. I've found that when I think a painting is finished, if I put it aside until it is dry I can look at it again more objectively. And usually a bit of touch up to the highlights and accents is all it needs. My problem in that stage just before the last strokes. I need to step away and "rest my brain" for awhile.
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