Finishing

Yesterday, I talked about discipline. Today, I want to talk about finishing paintings.

It may seem odd to the general public that many paintings go unfinished. A well-known artist I know has about a 20% non-finishing percentage, which means that one in every five paintings he attempts is never completed. My percentage of is quite a bit higher.

Recently, I have learned that I can probably lower that percentage if I completely commit to a painting. The fact is, that I do not finish some paintings because I hit a "block". I am now learning to paint through blocks, and keep pushing forward. Then, as I am learning, the painting will come together.

I have started a new series called "work in progress". As I work on the paintings I have started, which is all two of them, I take photos to show my progress. The in progress photos won't be revealed until I am certain that I am going to finish the piece. Maybe that is cheating, but I like it it is avoiding unneccesary postings.

Maybe that is not such a good idea. Seeing a painting blocked in is not awe-inspiring. I want the viewer to be more involved with my work, and just thought this is a novel idea. My first posting on Facebook did draw any comments, so perhaps my audience is not interested in such a thing.

But taking pictures as I work is providing a push to finish what I have started. And that is a very good thing!

Artfully yours,

Cathy Harville