A Finish

On Wednesday, I finished up the foreground and cleaned up some areas that were a little "scrubby".  I'm really pretty happy with the painting. I'm often asked about finishing and when you know when you are done. Like everything in painting, it depends. You really have to find a way that works for you. Someone said that "whenever you think you need more you really need less." This is true for most of us; we tend to overwork at the end adding unnecessary detail. As I'm nearing the end I ask myself if whatever I'm about to do is really going to make a difference in the painting. Most often the answer is no. I stand back, my back to the painting, then turn around and see if anything "jumps out at me." I make those corrections and repeat. Some people view the image in a mirror. This is very effective as it will quickly point out problem areas.

I really enjoyed working on something this large and think I'm made some real discoveries. Besides, there's something exhilarating about squeezing a whole $30 tube of paint out at one time.

Finished Painting