When is it done?

When working on a painting I often get overly attached to the initial sketch and want to leave it in its unpolished state. I experience a few hours of frenzied painting as I try to capture my concept on canvas and this is when I feel the creativity is in it's most pure unadulterated state. I fear pushing it further and losing the impetuosity of these brushstrokes and the sensations the first burst of creativity evoked.

Sometimes I will live with such a painting for a time and the urge to change something will sweep back into me and I will place it once more on the easel. But if that never happens, I believe the unpolished painting empowers the viewer to participate in the creation process. By leaving it a little undefined the viewer is able to take it into their mind and make it their own.