Monet’s Garden in the Morning

22″ x 28″
Oil on canvas

When exceptional subjects are available I like to paint both the vertical and horizontal. Monet painted water lilys at least 250 times in his 86 year life. I’m going to have to do a lot of painting to catch up. I try and learn something from every painting. It’s easy to start a painting but it is even more difficult to know how and when to finish a painting. Friends often ask “How long does a painting take?”. After a canvas is completely covered it is put aside on an easel or the wall to Rest. My friends understood that for me a resting canvas meant the painting was essentially finished. After a week or two I would decide on a limited number of fixes I considered to be glaring. Then I would discipline myself not to change or add anything new to this painting. The disarrayed cluttered look of this scene is very deceptive. If a little bit is good a whole lot is better is completely Wrong. Knowing when to stop is a hard lesson to learn.