Billy Undone

March 23, 2018
   Woke up. Still alive. Went to work.

Daily Whip Out: "Billy Undone"

   Found this undone Billy upstairs in the studio while looking for something else. Gave it a couple tweaks and thought I'd spend some time on the shirt and scarf but then I asked my curator, Kristi Jacobs, if she thought I should work on it some more and she basically said, "I like it as is," so here you go—literally—Billy Undone.

   Found another "Whip Out" with the same issues:

 

Daily Whip Out: "Arizona Charlie Headshot"

   Fretted about it some. Then decided to take a walk. Beautiful skies out this morning.

Ratcliff Ridge Sunrise

   A little later, it turned into this:

Ratcliff Ridge Cloudburst

or,

Cecille B. DeMille Clouds. 

  So, this whole thing about finishing paintings earlier and leaving undone passages has got me all worked up. Have I killed countless paintings with overwork? Without a doubt. 

"Vendetta Riders"

Have I missed the boat on paintings that needed another layer of effort? Without a doubt.

"Topock Marsh"

   So, will I ever know when a painting is done, or needs more work?  I doubt it. Or, more importantly, am I lying to myself?

"Art that doesn't contain lies isn't really a great piece of art."
—Damien Hirst