Sometimes you think you have completed a painting and you sign it and put it aside to dry. Then, over time, you look at it each time you come into your studio. You paint a few more paintings and slowly you sort of fall out of love with the painting you thought was done. An artist friend comes over and you ask for their input and they agree that the painting just isn’t finished. So, it sits for a while longer.

Finally, you put it back on the easel and, brush in hand, you make a decision. You mix up some paint and tentatively apply. Then more. You step way back and look. You look away and look back. You come back and put in a few more brush strokes. You adjust some values and maybe alter some temperatures.

Now you are down to details. You put some in and you wipe some out and then add some back again. Finally, you think you are satisfied and clean your brushes and decided to keep looking at this painting that just seems to missing SOMETHING.

A few more painting sessions. Minor, minor changes. Then you look at the calendar and realize that it has to be finished today in order to be ready for a show in which you want to display it. So, it’s done. If it sells at the show it really is done. If not, who knows, the easel is still waiting if it needs to return.

So here is Version I:

And here is the current final Version: