Done. Done. Done.

Anyone who has seen my social media posts of my work had to notice how frequently I follow up a post of a finished work is followed by a second and at time third post of that same work, somewhat more done than before. Strange as it may seem, in observing this unusual and  unintentional quirk in my own behavior, I have begun to accept it and see it as a part of my creative process.

As any artist can attest, "done" is very hard to define. We start with an idea and perhaps even some preparation, sketches and what not, to create something, our vision. We start, typically overcoming the intimidating blankness of a white surface. We begin making marks, rendering form, advancing color/contrast and manifesting that vision. Usually at several points along the way we pause question if our initial vision is still where we want to go. Are we happy with the work? If not, do we pivot in some way, altering the palette, subject, materials, techniques or story. Basically we are asking "am I done?" and if not, what more do need to do?

One important thing to note: Every creative I know ( not solely artists ) are pursuing ever-higher bars in execution, creating works, learning from that act, and iterating. That means things are only "done" as long as the creative has not thought of a way to improve upon the work. I feel great sympathy for all partners and spouses of creatives. This relentless pursuit of the higher and higher thing tends to bleed over into all of life's pursuits. It can feel like life and all of those we share our journey with are often falling short, as there is consistently a suggestion available for what could be made better. Speaking for myself, I struggle with turning this desire to "improve" off. I aspire to at least recognize when to keep "my brilliance improvements" to myself. Sometimes even that exceeds my grasp. When it comes to knowing when something is "done" this reflexive desire to improve can lead to endless pursuits. If things can always be improved then nothing ever is truly done. 

Lets look at this week. I have been working on the portrait of a friend. At least twice I thought I was "done" and within a matter of minutes after posting the work on Instagram ( #pauljbryantartist, #thekindspark ) I felt driven to alter the work. First it was the overall darkness of the image, some of the hair appeared flat to me, and saw a need to change the background. To me there was a "done" I had not quite reached. I worked on it a bit more and was pretty happy with it and posted again. And again, in a matter of minutes I saw the white in the hair and the paper color showing through on the face appeared to clash. I was compelled to address this grievous incompleteness. After working through these issues I do actually feel like I am "done, done, done". So far.

So what is going on? What I do know is something about sharing the work pushes me to look at it with a more critical eye and challenge myself to push it a bit further. I also recognize that the photos I take with my phone change the work in ways ( contrast, color balance, brightness,...) that help me see potential dissonance or issues. Although I regularly stand back from my work, seeing it on a small screen does tend to force a big picture assessment as well.

You may rightly ask "Why not do all of this on your own without sharing to simply self-assess?" The thing is, I do. But there is some additional alchemy that happens within me when I share it. Its like your eyes help me to see it anew. So, at least for now, it is likely you will see my art in various stages of "done-ness". I humbly ask you to keep looking at the work so that the alchemy continues. I also ask if you have your own thoughts about when "done" is "done" please share them in comments.