How Do You Know When a Painting Is Finished?
If you’ve ever found yourself staring at your painting wondering, “Is this finished?” You’re not alone! I often get asked how to know when a painting is complete, and in this blog post, I will share some ideas and inspiration for deciding when a painting is finished.
It can be hard to know when it’s the right time to stop painting, especially when you are an abstract painter and don’t have a concrete reference image you’re following. Painting intuitively is wonderful, but when you are unsure of when to stop, you can easily overwork your piece. I’ll share some tips for how to avoid overworking so you’re left with paintings you feel proud of every time you paint!
So let’s dive into some tips and considerations when you’re deciding whether or not your piece is finished.
Know that you can fix any mistakes
Many artists stop their paintings early because they’re afraid that if they keep going they’ll mess up what they’ve already done. This worry can keep you paralyzed if you’re not careful! Remember that with acrylic paint, there’s really no way you can mess up your painting! If you don’t like something you’ve done, you can always paint over it.
If you find yourself thinking that a painting needs a little something “more” but you’re worried about messing it up, I’d encourage you to be brave and just try. You’ll never know what the painting might have been if you let that fear hold you back. Be bold and see where it takes you! If you’re really worried about it, take a picture of the painting before you make your bold move so that you can remember what you liked about it and reset if needed.
Trust your gut!
Deciding when a painting is finished is a decision that only YOU can make. After all, you’re the artist, and this painting is a creation borne of your imagination! Listen to your gut feeling. Take a few deep breaths while you’re looking at your painting. See if you can hear your intuition telling you whether or not it’s finished.
I rely on my art skills like being able to evaluate color harmony and see whether a composition is balanced when I’m deciding if a painting is finished. But more often than not, I can tell a painting is finished because I have a gut feeling about it. Get quiet and listen to that voice inside to help guide you!
Be confident in your decision
Once you’ve decided that the painting is complete, be confident in that decision. If you feel wishy-washy about your painting, your audience will feel that. When you confidently make the decision to finish the painting and share it with the world, your audience will feel that confidence and will be excited about your artwork! Want some tips for building your confidence as an artist? Check out this post next!
Be careful not to overwork your piece
In the first tip, I encouraged you to not be afraid to make a bold move with your piece. But I also want to caution you against overworking it. When you’re nearing the end of the painting, make sure to step back often and evaluate how the piece is looking.
Overworking a painting usually comes from a desire to make it perfect. You can feel when you begin to overwork something because you’ll start to get into “fixing mode” when the painting might not need to be fixed in the first place.
To avoid getting stuck in the perfectionism cycle and overworking your piece, take a step back, take a deep breath, and maybe even step away from the painting for a while. When you come back with fresh eyes, you’ll have a clearer perspective on whether or not you think it’s finished! If you do need to keep painting, go for it! But you may find that those little imperfections that you were hung up on have all gone away!
Add finishing touches + metallics
Sometimes a painting feels like it needs a little extra something at the end, but you’re not sure what. I know the feeling! I’ve found that adding tiny details at the end can make a HUGE difference in how polished and finished the piece looks.
I often add little embellishments like dots, lines, or highlights to bring my paintings together in the end. And one of my favorite ways to embellish a painting is with metallic accents! I add metallics to almost all of my pieces whether it’s with a paint pen, gilding wax, or gold leaf! You’d be surprised how much of an impact this will have on your paintings.
The next time you’re wondering what to add to your painting to finish it off, I’d highly recommend trying to add a few finishing embellishments and see how that affects your piece!
At the end of the day, this is a skill you’ll learn and hone as you paint more and more. Trust your gut and your creative vision! You’ve got this!
xo, Jessi
If you want to learn my process for finishing my paintings with metallic accents, I’d love for you to join me in my class, Mesmerizing Metallics! You’ll learn abstract acrylic painting techniques plus a step-by-step process for adding shimmering gold leaf to your artwork!
If you’re brand new to Skillshare you can access this class plus thousands of others with a free month-long trial! My gift to you!
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