That Feeling Of Finishing A Painting
- Denise Cerro
- Apr 26
- 2 min read
There’s a moment in the studio when you realize a painting is finished. Not perfect, just finished. And there’s a difference.
For artists, finishing a piece of art is a really satisfying moment. After days or weeks of layering paint, adding texture, stepping back, questioning decisions, and sometimes even covering up parts that once felt important...the work finally reaches a place where it feels complete. It stops asking for more.
This painting, which still remains nameless, was so much fun to work on... I kind of hate for it to be done! Stories kept popping up and showing me the next steps, elements to add in, stories to be told... or just remembered by me. And finally... it stopped asking for more.
This painting was also one of the first where I slowed down, took my time, and let the painting talk to me and tell me what's next...that's how those buzzing bees showed up in the top right hand corner. It's almost hard to remember where it all started... good thing I photo and video progress along the way. From sorting and selecting papers to laying out the framework... it took a little over a month of my attention... happily.
That’s usually how I know a painting is done. I walk past it in the studio and nothing in me feels the need to pick up a brush again. The balance feels right. The story feels told.
Of course finishing a painting always brings a mix of emotions. There’s satisfaction, but also a little bit of letting go. I believe most artists are like me, and spend so much time in conversation with a piece that when it’s finished, it almost feels like saying goodbye to something that’s been part of your daily life. This is another reason I like slowing down with my art...the pieces feel much more personal to me.
For collectors, what you see in a finished painting is really just the final chapter. Underneath the surface are layers of decisions, experiments, changes, and discoveries that happened along the way. Every piece of original art carries that quiet history with it.
That’s part of what makes collecting original art so special...it holds the energy of the creative process. And once a painting is finished and leaves the studio, something else happens that artists know well…we start looking at the next blank canvas!
I'm sure it will come as no surprise...I have started on that next painting...actually I have a few in the line up that are staring me down in the studio! I'm sure I'll have something to say about that process...and will be sure to share it here with you in the near future.
For now...hit the big button below and head over to see the last few things I did to finish this one off. And...it you have any ideas for a title...let me know down in the comments...I would love and appreciate that!
You are a work of art, not everyone will understand you,
but the ones who do,
will never forget you.
TITLE: Just the 3 of us.
"Home is people. Not a place." (from a line in a book by Robin Hobb)