Is a Painting Ever Really Finished?
Wow! I was completely blown away by the response I got to the 100 paintings idea. So many of you emailed me back, and even more of you jumped on the Studio Circle priority list to be part of it. I was thrilled to know this resonated with so many, as you know this is a sure way to get better, no doubt.
We WANT to get better and we want accountability, which gives us higher chances of actually doing it.
A New Module Is Coming
So here is the news. We didn't have a 100 paintings module inside the Studio Circle. Now, we do so we can track and encourage each other. That's starting in July, as well as some fun exercises to do during the summer months. But truthfully, it starts any time you’re ready! You set the pace and the timeframe as it needs to be a sustainable project that can be accomplsihed as opposed to crashing and burning from being to big. :)
Okay, now onto today's question, because it is related.
What I Tracked During My First 100
What did I track when I was doing my first 100? I tracked everything, the good ones and the bad ones, finished or not. Because every single effort we put in, counts.
Now, how do we know when a painting is finished? Are they EVER finished???
I have pondered this for a while. There's a quote I love by Paul Gardner. He is a writer, editor, and art critic who said:
"A painting is never finished, it simply stops in interesting places."
I love this!! I have lost count of how many times I have looked at a painting and thought "just one more touch here" and "just a little adjustment there"... and ended up ruining the whole thing. I say that I kill them with too much love. I lose the freshness, the looseness and energy that made it work in the first place, gone. Destroyed by "improvements."
The 10% Rule
A mentor of mine keeps telling us: it's better to be 10% underdone than 1% overdone.
Read that again. 10% underdone vs 1% overdone. That is not a typo and that is not a small difference, that is what makes paintings special sometimes.
So maybe Paul Gardner had it right all along. A painting never really finishes, it just stops at an interesting spot. The trick we are trying to learn is knowing where that spot is BEFORE you go past it.
This is what I do: once I start feeling I am close, I slow down, and at a certain point, when I start putting down marks that do not make the painting better and aren't intentional, I tell myself I am allowed to come into it if I feel it's necessary. 8 times out of 10, the following day I realize I am way more done than I realized.
Why 100 Paintings Helps
This is actually exactly the kind of thing a 100 paintings project is going to help you with. When you are painting your way through 100 pieces instead of agonizing over only one, you stop being so precious about each one. You learn to recognize the interesting spot, and step away, because you know painting number 47 is coming next week anyway.
Over to You
Do you ever go back into paintings you thought were finished? Or do you just start fresh next time? I go back and forth on this constantly and I would love to know how you handle it. Send me a note back. 👇
Hugs,
Marcela
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