I think I overworked this painting and I don't know when to stop
Working on a little 8x10 of a pear on a blue cloth for a craft fair submission this weekend. It's my third painting this week and I think I cooked it. The highlights on the pear started out nice and soft and I kept messing with them and now it looks like it's made of plastic. The cloth is okay but the whole thing just feels... tight. Like I sucked the life out of it by trying too hard.
I know the answer is probably "put the brush down and walk away" but has anyone actually gotten better at knowing when a piece is done? Or is it always this guessing game of is it finished or did I just ruin it?
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Oh I feel this so much. That plastic highlight thing is so specific to overworking, I've done it to so many portraits, you get the light just right and then you touch it one more time and suddenly it's a doll's face.
For me the thing that helped most wasn't learning to stop. It was learning to stop BEFORE I think it's done. Like when I look at a piece and my first thought is "okay this is starting to look good actually", that's the danger moment. Because my instinct then is to make it better and that's when I ruin it.
Also I started taking photos of my work in progress on my phone. When I flip to black and white it's way easier to see when the values start getting muddy from overworking. Sounds technical but it's just a trick.
What's the pear look like in greyscale? Curious if the plastic thing is a value problem or more about the edges being too blended. Sometimes you can save it by sharpening just ONE edge back up.
The photo thing is such a good tip. I took a picture of mine halfway through and it looked great in the photo. Should've stopped there 😅
You're so right about that dangerous moment when it starts looking good. That's exactly when I go in and start "improving" things that didn't need it. I think I need to start treating that feeling like a warning sign instead of encouragement.
What do you do when you stop early though? Do you just leave it and come back the next day? I feel like if I don't keep going I lose momentum.