Stuck on Finishing a Painting? Consider This.

You’re a doer, you like to get things done. You give side-eye to the thought of failure and you try really hard to get it right...

You’d rather stick with things, and make them work, than walk away and wonder “What if I hadn’t quit when I did?”

But here’s the thing about being a “quitter”. Sometimes, every once in a while--a painting just isn’t going to happen Baby Boo, it just isn’t.

What I mean is that it’s just not going to ever be what you wanted it to be.

That can also be a good thing, it might even come out better than you thought, if you let it marinate, and work on other things for a while. It's possible you might pull it out again, and just know what it needs.

But that’s not what we’re talking about here.

By the way, there's a flip side to this "not finishing" thing... and it's just plain old avoidance. Rather than trying and trying to finish a painting, we run from finishing it instead. We all do both from time to time--if that's more like where you are now, read this instead...!

The Secret Reason You Aren't Finishing Your Paintings

Okay, so back to what I’m talking about here...

You aren’t putting things off, no way! You’re on it--it’s just a no go--and you are starting to see that now.

You’ve tried so hard to make a painting bend to your will, never giving up on it--no matter how many non-working incarnations it’s had.

There are a lot of reasons a painting doesn't work, like...

The spark for the idea is gone, you just don't care as much about it.
The original/core layout is just “off” and can't be fixed now.
The image is too large for the canvas, feels cramped.

Hopefully you’ll work on lots and lots of paintings and projects in your life. The more you do, the more variety you encounter, the better you’ll get.

So, when you look at it that way--does it actually make sense to keep on trying?

If you still think it does I have one more way of thinking for you to consider.

I’m guessing that this painting we are talking about goes something like this...

You loved the original concept of it, you’ve worked long and hard on it, and it probably has a few really great parts to it (maybe even some of your best work here and there).

But is it weighing you down?

When you think of working on it, does it feel like work you don’t want to do?

Does it feel more like duty than an exploration?

Do you feel like you’d be losing a part of your history or journey as an artist without it?

Do you have serious doubts that it’s going to make you happy if you do finish it?

I’d be willing to bet at least one of those is true.

The good thing to know is that while it might feel that way, you can choose to look at it another way, one that will set you up for a different experience.

Remember this:

You don’t have to be loyal to a particular painting. You just have to be loyal to yourself, your creativity and to try and honor the expression of it as freely and completely as you are able.

That's where the real magic is. That's what fuels the whole thing.

The paintings are just the results. Following your creativity and what makes you feel inspired while working is why we do the work at all.

So ask yourself this...

Is continuing to work on this potentially unfinishable painting going to be a true expression of how you want to be expressing your creativity right now? Or is it just a "I should do it" thing?

It could be that this was a painting that started with a lot of excitement--but what you really needed was that painting experience, not an actual painting.

I’d say that’s something which is far, far more important.

The experience you got while working on it was what you actually needed this time around.

You learned a ton with every wrong turn. You tried out idea after idea. You fought the urge to give up, over and over.

You proved your tenacity, and that you are serious. That’s a lot of value from that little (or big) canvas, if you ask me.

And...If you still really love the idea of this one that's just not working, you could always start over with a blank canvas...with the same idea, and better plans!

This stuff is tricky, but we all have to find ways that work for us. Here's a related post that might help!