An artist never really finishes his work; he merely abandons it.  ~Paul Valéry

I woke this morning to more snow! It wasn’t anything that could stop a person from getting out & about, just a light dusting, and so pretty!  We had our critique group meeting at Tangie’s, and lucky for me, the swans were still there! Such a delight…. and we also spotted an elegant white egret! It was hard to concentrate on the art with all the beautiful scenery out the windows.

Wild Swans

I was so unsure about bringing my newest painting today… I didn’t really feel like it was finished, but couldn’t put a finger on what to do to finish it. I didn’t want to fiddle it to death. The group was very complimentary, they thought it was definitely finished 🙂

Often times I need a period of time to elapse between the final stages of a painting, and pronouncing it complete. There is something about the passage of time that makes me less sensitive to hearing criticism, or more sure about the success or failure of a painting. Do other artists out there feel the same way? I’d love to hear others’ perspectives on this. Here is the ‘finished’ work (unless I change my mind and work on it some more!)

Mother & Child