How to know when a work of art is finished
Creating art is a personal journey, full of emotions and decisions that shape the work. If you have always wondered how to know when to stop, when you can say a creative work is finished, welcome to the club. All artists go through that situation every time they create. But over time I have learned some keys that help me make that decision and that I would like to share with you in case they can help you.
My experience with the creative process
In my opinion, if you make figurative art it is easier to know when a work is finished. Or at least, it is easier for me. Usually the project is first sketched, a composition, shape and color fit is made and then worked on little by little until you reach that “final result” that you have in your head or on paper. The more realistic or hyperrealistic the work is, the more obvious the end is, at least in terms of form and technique.
But what if you work abstract or semi-abstract? What if you work improvising, experimenting? Or if you are looking for something you don’t know what it is? That’s where the picture changes. Every work I start is born from an idea, a mental image or an emotion I want to capture. But the path is never linear. As I move forward, doubts, adjustments, unexpected situations and changes of mind arise. Suddenly you find yourself in a place where a reference photo, a real model or a sketch are no longer useful; you are alone facing a path that you don’t know where it leads or when it ends.
Signs that tell me that a work is finished
You learn painting and painting. There is no magic formula, and experience and personal intuition have a lot to do with it. And yet sometimes the work goes to shit and becomes part of your discard corner or directly into the recycling bin. However, over time I have learned to identify certain signs that tell me that my work is ready to be shared with the world.
- It conveys what I wanted to express. When I look at the piece and it provokes the emotion I wanted to communicate or the message is clear, I know that it has fulfilled its objective.
- The composition looks balanced. Nothing stands out unintentionally and each element seems to be in its place, in visual harmony, and technically I see it correct.
- I stop feeling the need to make changes. If I feel that I do not need to modify or add anything, it is a good indication that it is finished.
Taking distance: My best strategy
One of the best things I have learned is to take a break before considering a work finished. Getting away for a few days and coming back with fresh eyes allows me to see if it really needs adjustments or if I’m just falling into the trap of “eternal perfection.” It has also happened to me that those days have turned into weeks, those weeks into months and sometimes I’ve finished works two years later or they’ve just been left to live in the unfinished corner, waiting for a future intervention.
Asking for external opinions? Maybe…
Sometimes, we are so immersed in our own work that we lose objectivity and a second opinion may help us see aspects that we haven’t noticed. But of course, the ideal would be to ask someone with artistic knowledge or with a certain aesthetic criterion, and that person doesn’t always exist around us. Keep in mind that personal taste is very relative, but another vision may help you move forward.
Personally, I don’t usually do this. While I’m working on a work, I prefer to be guided by my own intuition and personal criteria.
Examples of great artists and their vision of the end of a work
Leonardo da Vinci and his infinite perfectionism
It is said that da Vinci never stopped retouching the Mona Lisa until the end of his days. His famous phrase “Art is never finished, it is only abandoned” reflects this dilemma that many of us experience.
Pablo Picasso and immediate expression
Picasso, on the other hand, believed in capturing the energy of the moment. For him, a work was finished when it managed to convey the desired emotion without the need for extra embellishments.
Two of my works not “finished”
I have hesitated in many jobs, but these two works are a couple of outstanding examples of the situations I have encountered.
In the first one, my idea was not to do this still life, my intention was to continue painting and complete the image, but halfway through I realized that the work was already working, that leaving part of the raw linen in sight also gave it freshness and originality and contrasted with the strong chromatic areas. Of all the still lifes I have, this is by far my favourite.
In the second painting I was working on an idea related to the sea, in which a seabed, jellyfish and the texture of a rusty ship’s hull coexisted. I wanted to work the painting as if it were watercolour, through drippings and varnishes, generating a fluid environment. When I got to the point you see, I was unsure how to continue, I liked the way it was but at the same time I felt that it was missing something. I left the painting fallow, weeks went by and I still didn’t see it. I tried with Photoshop and nothing convinced me. This canvas was left standing for a year. Finally I came to the conclusion that what I didn’t want was to lose the transparencies and textures that I had generated and more paint would have meant covering it up. So I decided to finish it.
My final advice for knowing when to stop
- Let your work rest and look at it again with new eyes.
- Take it out of context, take a photo of it and look at it outside your work environment, as if it were someone else’s work.
- Rotate it in different positions to see if the composition works.
- Less is more. If you think it already works even though it’s not finished yet, leave it. Don’t fall into the trap of continuing to retouch the painting, there are times when you can’t go back and there’s no Ctrl+Z.
- Trust your intuition.
Knowing when a work is finished is a continuous learning process. Each artist develops their own method and confidence in their process. If your work reflects what you wanted to convey, then it is ready. Keep in mind that art does not seek perfection, but genuine expression and above all, enjoying the journey :)
