Keep on Pushing

The Ladder - once again a work in progress © Cherry Jeffs 2014

Are you in the habit of re-working your paintings? I'm not.

I normally find it easy to decide a piece is 'finished' by a satisfying silence in my head.

But there are times when I should push on and I don't.

Maybe it's the same for you?

It's not hard to find the reason why we sometimes stop short; It's fear:

• ​What happens if we carry on working and 'ruin' what we've already done?
  

• What if someone close to us says, 'I really liked that piece before?'

Overcoming 'Stopping Too Soon' Syndrome

My target for finishing The Ladder was part of a greater one: An open-studio event in June. By the last week of February, I was keen to move onto the next piece in the series in order to complete at least five new paintings for the event.

Unfortunately I had to abort the open studio due to unforeseen circumstances but I tried to resume work on the series on my return from the UK in March. 

I experienced a lot of resistance and gradually I realised that I was dissatisfied with this first piece.

What would happen if I stayed a bit longer with The Ladder? Where might it take me?
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Step back to get perspective

I put The Ladder on the easel and looked hard. ​​
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'The figure doesn't stand out against the background,' I thought.
'Blue,' said a small, definite voice, 'Strong, dark turquoise blue.'
'But what if it doesn't work?' I whimpered.

Colour test done in my digital sketchbook

​I did a mock-up of my proposed drastic change in my iPad digital journal. It looked good.

I took a deep breath and picked up my brush...

Because I already had the complete composition in place, I felt a great freedom with the brushwork.

​Now it's nearly done and I love it.

UPDATE: See the final version of The Ladder
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​​Are there times when you might push on with your work but you don't?

 Why not?

Or are you prone to overwork your pieces and kill their spontaneity? Why?

​Share in the comments!

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