I’m back in a familiar predicament, only with a new twist. How can I tell when a picture is finished? I had resigned myself to taking off the drawing board my latest effort, and putting it up on the display boards in the studio. That would ensure that at least I didn’t go on staring at it every time I went through the door. This would provide an opportunity, however, for any real defects/improvements to register over time. Then the problem reared its head in another form.
I went to look at my racks in order to see whether there might be an old frame waiting to be recycled, when a picture I completed at least two years ago caught my eye. For some time I have been aware that there is something annoying about it, and had just about written it off as a failure. At that moment, however, I realised that it is redeemable if only I take the trouble to mute some of the surface, giving it a greater sense of depth. It is possible that I might get round to doing that in the coming week. At least it will distract my attention from the one I have just “finished” (or not, as the case may be!)
There is a frequently-related story about J.M.W. Turner, who actually added the finishing touches to The Fighting Temeraire when it was already hung on the wall of the British Academy. So I guess I’m in good company.