When is a drawing 'finished'?

I've almost finished the painting commission. (Yep, the same one!) It's at that frustrating -nearly-not-quite- finished stage where it's pretty much done, but then I keep coming back to it and finding things that need tweaking. Being watercolour, I can't 'undo' much so its essential not to go too far. Many dry mediums are the same - you can lift a certain amount of graphite or coloured pencil, but it very much depends on your style. Vigorous mark-making across a crisp white page is pretty hard to make disappear! So how do you decide when a drawing is 'finished'?

Some drawings, like this one by Paz Winshtein have an 'unfinished' feel, with areas of the subject suggested with quick marks rather than detailed drawing. But in this case, it works. The quick marks used to suggest the skirt add movement and energy to the drawing, but the artist has also considered the arrangement in space so that the composition is complete. In contrast, this drawing of a cat by Lulu has a fully worked surface, finely detailed. In each case the artist makes choices about the effect they are after, the degree of freedom they are allowed, the degree of detail they want. Often this will depend on your subject, and if you are doing commissions, your client.

Some points to consider when finishing your drawing:
• Look at the overall composition. Is it balanced, or dynamic as you wish?
• Are there overworked areas drawing the eye away from the subject?
• Has a newly worked area created contrast that 'jumps' out of the picture?
• Is the drawing still fresh? Will adding more make it dull and lifeless?
• Is the drawing too raw - does it look weak, pale and unfinished?

Remember that a frame can make a huge difference to the look of a picture. Use pieces of black craft paper, or better still, have a couple of old matt boards (ask if your framer has some damaged stock you could have) and place them around your drawing. This contains the composition and gives you a better idea of how it works as a whole.