The Finish Line!

Now that all of the major areas of the painting are completed, minor alterations can be made, adjusting contrast, intensity, color and detail.

First I will verify that the large areas of light, middle and dark values are correct. Then make any adjustments within each area.  If an area in general is a middle value, then all of the adjustments should be middle values. If I add a dark value to that area in may destroy its identity as a middle value. Pattern is key to making a painting work.

From there I made literally dozens of minor adjustments to finish this painting. I added details where I want to bring the viewer into the painting, suggesting more movement. To bring the viewer to the center of interest, I added some reflections in the water and did some scratching for highlights. Then I continued from the center of interest to the right, and back to the foreground to complete the painting.

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The Finished Painting

I'm often asked "how do you know when the painting is finished?" My best answer is that when you are at the final stage of a painting and you see something that is wrong, then correct it if possible. if you see something that you think is wrong, leave it alone. You are done!

​This painting is completed. If this breakdown of my process was helpful to you, let me know and I will do another painting using this format. Thank you for following along!