Finished or Not… That’s the Question

How I know when a piece is finished (or when to walk away).

Oof, do we ever really know when to quit something? Honestly, I only lean into this question when it comes to creating, because in my personal life I don’t think I know how to walk away (that’s a whole other conversation). My issue isn’t so much “when the piece is finished” but more like walking away when it’s not finished enough.

I make a lot of art. Like, a lot. That’s why I opened a little Studio Shop to sell practice work, smaller pieces, or older stuff that still deserves a home. I need a long breathing space between me and whatever I’m working on in order to see it clearly. From the outside it might seem like I create fast, but I don’t. The quickest I can finish a piece is maybe a month, and that’s if things are flowing. I have pieces that I started back in 2020 that I still can’t bring myself to finish. Sometimes it’s because I don’t feel ready, or the vision is off, or my technique hasn’t caught up yet. Sometimes I even redo the same piece because the first version doesn’t speak to me.

Take this piece, for example. I had a vision in mind; it’s part of my series on facial expressions and cheeks pierced by various needles. (Been working on this series forever, with a handful of unfinished pieces still sitting around.) I started this one off a selfie. The idea was to show fear, agony, pain, but also… maybe a kind of bliss? Not sure if that came through. Honestly, the face just didn’t speak to me. But then I showed it to some people and they loved it, loved the expression. Me? Not so much. So I went back and tried again.

Now with this second version, I felt a lot throughout the process. When I paint portraits, especially ones focused on expression, I tend to put myself behind the mask. This one finally felt right. Still, I’m not even sure it’s done. There’s something missing, maybe. So I’m letting it breathe before deciding if I should keep working on it.

Here’s the thing: you can always find a reason to keep pushing a piece until it turns into destruction. I’ve ruined work before thinking “just a little more” when really, it was done ages ago. So I’m more careful now.

My process is really about giving time, being in the moment of feeling but also tactical about it. And honestly, this is something you only learn on your own. You can read my rambles, but at the end of the day, you’ll still have to figure out your own way of knowing when to walk away. Walk away completely, or just walk away long enough to come back with fresh eyes. Either way, it’s part of the practice.