How do you know when it is done?
Its' a question I am asked often. I have several answers that I will share here, but I wanted to comment that this is a question that abstract artists need to address not only with viewers of their art but also for themselves. Realist painters, doctors, laywers, and chefs may need to answer this question as well, however it is a more detailed answer for abstract atists and I think this is a sign of the questioner trying to understand my work. So I'm glad to have the conversation.
The act of abstract painting, at least for me, is an extension of an internal need to express a thought, feeling or experience. I wrote in a previous post about why I paint. I know that a painting is finished when I feel that I have achieved that expression. One of the most beautiful aspects of painting abstractly, for me, is the release from the comparison of the work to a point of reality. The is no intention to "look like" a particular person, landscape, or still life image. Yet the factors that contribute to a successful work still apply. Rules (well, I prefer "guides") of composition, color, line, texture, contrast, etc. apply to abstraction as much or more than realism. In abstraction I am thining about the interplay of the factors without regard to representing a speciifc image in reality. I may be reflecting a feeling of place, or a sense or emotion from an experience, but I am not constrained to aim for accuracy of place or person.
When I have achieved the expression I desire I know the work is complete. Another phrase I use often is that I know a painting is finished when I feel deeply that the next stroke of paint will detract rather than add to the work. It is a sense of completeness. There is, of course, a judgement involved here. Sometimes the feeling that the next act will detract is a sign that an artist needs to take that action - to detract in order to then get to a higher level of success. This comes will practice, experience and judgement. It is a path I pursue - and all part of the journey.
Humbly, Mark
https://www.markwitzlingart.com/thoughts-from-the-studio/blog_posts/WhyIPaint
