When do you finally stop, and call it done?

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I think I’ll call this one done.  How do you know you are “finally” done?  I don’t think you ever really know.

For me it is when I  feel like it is close to my vision for this painting.  I like to have it just be somewhere I can see it. Stepping back often while creating helps, in the process of deciding it is done.  I started with a picture, a resource for this painting.. about half way the picture goes away and the painting takes on a life of its own!

Seriously this does not look like the original picture used.  But I am happy with the painterly feel to this  “possibly” finished painting.   I say possibly because you can always go back and add, scrub out, rework an area.  Below are the Steps as being painted over this week .  The pictures show the progression of this painting.  4 steps before the final painting shown above.

Learning to stop ,or to even go far enough is difficult for many artist. I am no exception and I am famous for over working and becoming so attached to the original resource I am using that it becomes very stale and over worked and stiff. I’ve had to work at pushing myself to let the painting be what it is meant to be. Sometimes the art directs which way it will go. Which means I have to let go my original vision. I still have a hankering to doing a more realistic painting of this flower, which is a project for another day. Thank you for stopping by. 🙂

 

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AH..Finally have my painting corner all fixed up!!

I’m all set up and ready to roll.  My helper “Turkey” is making sure everything is there for me.  So Lets just say the upstairs bedroom did not do the job.  It was very  dark and very cramped.  Hated to go in there.  I moved it all downstairs.. set up a big table so I can spread out.. yeah.

Paint palette used a mixture of Windsor red/ Aureolin /  French Ultramarine and cobalt blue..  this is it!  Still keeping in mind working with mouse colors.  I think this is why I choose this white flower to paint those “grays” but finding it is harder than it looks.  I’m virtually new to this even though I use to paint about 10 years ago.

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I know this painting so far looks very soft in color but it is very  yellow in real life.  The yellow is very washed out in the picture.white flower 015

Painting number two using the same picture for inspiration but going its own way.  Very blue/purple with some yellow, I had hoped it would be more realistic like the picture.  I guess painting “white” is not as easy as it looks. lol.  I’m going to focus on these two and just go with it.  Maybe once the back ground is added it will look better.  After wards I just may give it another try.   To see if I can get that perfect greyish color to make this white flower look as it should.

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