There are some tips that experienced painters often use to help them get to the finish line: Standing back and squinting; showing the painting to an impartial critic; looking at it backwards in a mirror; leaving it aside for a time,… It’s a good idea to try out some of these ideas if you get stuck.
Here are a few choice quotes from artists on the topic; some are philosophical, some more practical, and some are just funny.
“…a piece is finished when the master has achieved his intention in it” Rembrandt
“A painting is complete when it has the shadows of a god.” Rembrandt
“Every great painting is left incomplete at the point where its completion is obvious” Robert Brault
“The painting is always finished before the artist thinks it is” Harley Brown
“One always has to spoil a picture a little bit in order to finish it.” Eugene Delacroix
“The best way to finish a painting is to start a new one.” Silvio Gagnon
“That’s the terrible thing: the more one works on a picture, the more impossible it becomes to finish it.” Alberto Giancometti
“…letting well enough alone – which is the rule for grown artists only.” Winslow Homer
“Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending.” Hennry Wadsworth Longfellow
“While adding the finishing touches to a painting might appear insignificant, it is much harder to do than one might suppose…” Claude Monet
“I’m never finished with my paintings; the further I get, the more I seek the impossible and the more powerless I feel.” Claude Monet
“The strength and clarity of the picture you envision at the start will tell you when you are done. You are finished when you have said what you wish to say, when nothing added can make it better.” Richard Schmid
“The minute you finish a piece, get rid of it! If it’s bad, it’ll drag you down, if it’s great, you’ll just sit there looking at it.” Unknown
“When a thing is not worth overdoing, leave it alone!” Henry S Haskins
“I’m finished when I can’t stand it anymore.” Ron Mosma
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