Always finished

There are different ways to approach drawing and painting.

One way is to start in one section, to complete it, and then to move on.

Another is to draw some registration marks, some sketchy lines, some general forms, and then to build up the work slowly.

A third way is similar, but it relates to an overall vision: it’s to complete the work such that it is always in a state of being finished.

It’s a mental shift. Instead of working section by section, or building foundations upon which to grow, the artist works the entire canvas at once. The whole of the work is considered — at the same time — throughout the process.

This approach is not always practical (a builder cannot pour foundations and simultaneously set windows).

But the concept can be useful — to work with an all-over approach, where there’s a continuous sense of completeness.

When you work in this way, you can’t hide behind the phrase, “don't look... it’s not finished.”

For some of us, the opposite idea — the idea of “please look, it’s ready” — could help us to grow in new ways.