Happy 4th!

The Nation Makers by Howard Pyle

When to Walk Away...

As an artist there are three situations where you really need to learn to walk away...

1. If there is an opportunity to work on a project that won't help you get better, or advance yourself as an artist (particularly in the field in which you want to be creating art), say no and walk away. 

Money is a tempting thing in this world and I, like many of you out there, have taken on projects solely for the promise of getting paid. These were all projects in different niches of art, illustration, and in some cases graphic design that I had very little interest in other than the fact that there was a paycheck at the end of it (and in some cases not even that). When I look back on those projects I can take very little away from them that helped to make me better at what I want to do; not one of them sticks around as a piece to advance my career and at this point in my life, to be completely frank, they feel like time ill spent.

2. If you've been working for more than 4 hours straight you need to walk away, albeit briefly. Take breaks often when you are working. Not so often that you lose your flow, but often enough that you can come back to the easel with a fresh eye now and again. Even more so if you are having trouble with a particular passage; walk away and leave it for a while. Go take a walk and look back at it later. Work on something else. Either way let your mind work on the problem while you focus your efforts on other things. The next time you're back at the painting, or working that particular passage, it might be a no-brainer. The answer may have been there all along and you just weren't in the right state of mind to see it.

3. When your painting says all it needs to say; when you have sufficiently told the story; when everything is finally done... walk away. 

This is easier said than done.

It often feels that art is never really finished; given the opportunity an artist might work and rework a piece forever. Second guessing themselves and changing things. Tweaking things. Sometimes the best thing to do in this case is just walk away. Call it finished for now. Look back at it in a few days and see if you're still seeing the same stuff, the same problems.

Frank Frazetta's Conan the Buccaneer upon publication

Unless there are hard deadlines involved you always have the freedom to go back and change things. Even after deadlines or print dates, you can always rework your painting for yourself.

Frank Frazetta's Conan the Destroyer, reworked after publication