Before and after.... irises

before

after

Varnish is drying and the tag is ready .... this art is soon headed to the Willow downtown. The "before" was started during a demo at our annual open house this past Mother's Day weekend. The "after" piece was finished this week and actually has many layers of color even though the visual difference seems minimal. During the process I changed my mind several times. At one point, though, I thought I was done. Then a friend, Mary, asked me questions about my painting processes ......for example, how do you know when to stop? And why is this color/technique not like that color/technique. Well.... I thought I was finished, but apparently Mary's questions challenged me... and I did something I don't often do - which is go back to similar colors I had started with. Yup. All that thinkin' and paintin' and then I go back to a place very close to where I had started. And I lived. Usually re-doing makes me crazy, but I learned a ton. Thank you, Mary! So when does one stop a painting? Good question.... I guess when it has gotten to the point when you say to yourself in amazement... "wow". And since I say that several times while I am painting (because I love to watch the color flow from the brush).... that means I have no good answer. :-) So...carry on.