When Is an Artwork Finished?

It’s one of the most common questions artists ask, and fear answering: When is an artwork truly finished?

There are many myths tangled up in the idea of completion. Some artists believe a piece is finished only when it matches their original vision. Others think it must reach a certain level of realism or technical perfection. And then there are those (hello, recovering perfectionist here) who keep fiddling long after the piece is ready to speak for itself.

The truth is: most of us were never really taught how to know when a piece is done. And often, we think more effort equals better art. But that mindset can be misleading, and even harmful.

Hey there! 👋 I’m Carrie. Here on Artist Strong, I help self-taught artists learn how to draw or paint anything they want. To date, thousands have joined the community.

👉🏽👉🏽👉🏽 Today’s conversation is brought to you by my mini-training 🎧 3 Reasons Artists Don’t Finish (and What to Do About It). The goal is to have you walk away feeling empowered to finish without needing more time, more motivation, or more supplies. Use the link here or in the description below to get started.

The Myth of the Perfect Match

One big misconception? That your art is finished when it looks exactly like the image you had in your head. But art isn’t a photocopying exercise. That imagined image is only a starting point. The process inevitably takes you places you didn’t anticipate, and that’s part of the magic.

Leonardo da Vinci once said, “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” It’s a reflection of the reality many artists face: perfection is an illusion, and if you wait for it, you’ll never put down the brush.

Da Vinci’s own body of work includes many pieces left incomplete by traditional standards. His Adoration of the Magi, for example, remains famously unfinished. He often moved on when his interest waned or when the artwork had already served its purpose. He was so notorious for not completing his art, patrons began to include finishing clauses in his contracts. They usually included a stipulation that he return the money he was paid if he didn’t finish the work within a certain timeframe!

Da Vinci only completed somewhere between 13 and 20 artworks in his entire lifetime.

This story is one I keep repeating because it is SO important for fellow artists to hear that someone art history reveres and puts on a pedestal was far from perfect. And it normalizes the idea that artists face problems as part of their creative practice. 

Mind Over Matter

I’ve shared this story from college more than once, but I find it a valuable teaching moment now. A professor I very much admired was looking at my work and commented, “You murder your paintings.” And… she was right. I had lost/layered over my stronger marks because I didn’t think it could be finished. I kept going because:

• I thought it had to take a long time to be good.
• I thought it had to be super realistic to be good.
• I thought I needed some magical, innate talent to be good.

What I lacked wasn’t skill, it was confidence. And that mindset was what actually ruined the work. When we operate from a place of doubt, we second-guess every decision. We overwork our pieces. We add and add in the hope that effort will equal worth.

A New Way to Know

Over the years, I’ve developed a simple question that helps me know when to stop:

Will another mark help or hurt my work?

If I’m not 95–100% confident a new mark will improve the piece, I stop. 

If there’s any hesitation or uncertainty, I stop. 

I try to trust the pause, which I will say comes with its own challenges for me. And sometimes that means the piece is done. Other times, it just needs a little more time to “sit” before I know what’s next. I have to give the work space and permission to be what IT wants to be.

If a mark will hurt the work, I don’t make it. Full stop.

This question grounds me. It respects the work. It’s a compass that guides me away from my old perfectionist habits. And it brings me back to listening: to the work, to my instincts, to my growth.

I know it sounds a little silly, me describing my individual artworks like they are individual, living entities. But that shift in how I think about the work helps me when I think about overworking the piece, and it helps me step away from the work to give myself distance and perspective on my next steps.

Listening, Not Forcing

Most of us overwork out of fear. We try to fix something instead of finish something. But the answer often isn’t in more doing, it’s in deeper listening.

When I release my assumptions about what my art “should” look like, and I get quiet enough to listen, I know when it’s done.

That’s the real work. Not layering or editing or endlessly correcting, but quieting the noise long enough to hear your own creative voice.

One strategy that helps me is to ask my art questions: (Yes, again, I’m aware I’m speaking to an inanimate object). 

Are you finished?

What do you want adjusted?

Should I change [insert something about the work here]?

And then I pause and listen. What does my inner artist reply? 

When you talk to a lot of artists, they say they just know when an artwork is complete. It’s more of a “gut” feeling. It’s easier to recognize and work with that gut feeling when you know how to listen.

Conclusion: The Art of Knowing

Finishing an artwork isn’t about checking boxes or reaching some mythical standard of perfection. It’s about learning to trust your instincts, embrace imperfection, and recognize when the work has said what it needs to say. You don’t need more time, talent, or supplies: you need a mindset shift. When you quiet the noise, ask the right questions, and listen deeply, the answer becomes clear.

And if you want more support navigating that space between “not quite” and “complete,” don’t forget to grab your free mini-training: 3 Reasons Artists Don’t Finish (and What to Do About It). You’ll walk away with fresh tools to help you create with more confidence, and finish your work with intention.

I hope you learned something new today! If you liked today’s video please consider subscribing to Artist Strong. Subscribers help decide what videos I write and produce next.

Then go ahead and tell me: what’s one “aha” you’ve had around finishing your art and how will you use it in your next work? Let’s keep the conversation going in the comments below.

As always, thank you so much for watching.

Remember: proudly call yourself an artist.
Together, we are Artist Strong.