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How do you know when an artwork is complete?

How do you know when an artwork is complete? This is a question that I'm not sure has a single defined answer. Some artists will say that an artwork is never complete but that one reaches a stopping point. What is that stopping point? In my experience, there have been different instances when I've considered an artwork complete. Some times it is after becoming frustrated with how a work is not progressing to meet the vision in my head that I quit working on it and exclaim, "I'm finished working on this." Shaking my head, tossing my brushes into a cup and walking out of my studio is when that work is finished. Mostly, for me it is after I've achieved the look or "feel" I was hoping for that I stop working on an artwork. It is difficult to consistently decide when a work is complete. Because I use emotion as an inspiration for much of my work, it is the emotion of the work that tells me when it is complete. Sometimes the art has to tell me when it is time for me to move on. The "trained" artist in me will continue to correct flaws, such as line weight, balance, rhythm, etc. Even after the work is framed and ready for display, I will continue to critique it silently. This can't be helped I think but has to be tempered or the work will begin to be overworked. There is a saying that a work is abandoned and not completed. There may be some truth to this. It is probable that this is a practice that many of artist use. My garage is cluttered with unfinished paintings and

drawings. I just hope that the artwork doesn't abandon me.


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