The Trials of Finishing Paintings

In Progress: "Churning" ©Tabetha Hastings

I had a lovely day in the studio yesterday. It had been awhile - my studio time (aside from teaching) has been very sporadic this year. Part of the reason for this is that I got several paintings to the point of being nearly done. I have to be honest with you: this is not the most exciting stage of a painting. It requires more thought and decisions, and... frankly I'd rather just start another painting. (And I have a bad habit of not finishing things... I'm sure no one else can relate to that...)
The other reason I haven't been in the studio much, is that the pull to play has been strong - especially with the warm weather. Of course play is an integral part of the creative process, but still.

Yesterday I went to my studio with the intention of finishing "Churning" (above). Like so many things in life, the final stages of a painting always take much, MUCH longer than expected. I'll continue to work on it today. It's at that stage that the changes are subtle enough that there won't be any obvious differences, but the changes are necessary.

When I went to log yesterday's hours, I was surprised that I hadn't worked on this painting since January!! It's been far too long.

Looking forward to spending some quality time with it today.