HOW CAN YOU TELL IF YOUR PAINTING IS FINISHED?

How do you know when your painting is finished? That is a good question and one I have been asking myself all day. In all honesty, I don't think a painting is ever really "finished". 

I just finally asked myself, "Is there anything else I can think to do?" Then I walked away a few times and when I finally came back and couldn't think of another stroke of the brush to add to my canvas I decided to call it "Texas Good". That's a saying here in the Lone Star State, in case you aren't fortunate enough to live here and know the language.

It took me longer than expected (it always does) to finish this one but I won't be too hard on myself. After all, I am raising three kids, moving, and currently I am studying for my Music EC-12 TeXes Exam so I can be a certified Music teacher. I figured it wouldn't hurt to add one more certification to my resume and I love music!

Okay, so let me explain this painting a little bit. It's called "Buffalo Sun" for obvious reasons. There's a buffalo and a sun.... plus the name sounds really cool! 

But in this painting the Bison represents abundance, protection, and wholeness for all mankind.  We are all here on this earth together, all part of the human race. We are all One. 

I used the teepees to symbolise all of humanity. The teepees represent safety, home, family, love, and community. 

I used the desert as the stage for my painting. Vast, empty, and open to possibility. A lot like this canvas before I added the paint.

The sun symbolises the energy and light that fuels our planet and allows all life to flourish. We have all depended on the sun throughout the whole of time. It is a miraculous star. 

The Bison stands as our protector, as a spirit animal or totem. I put him on a pedestal, almost like a statue because he is more of a representation of strength, abundance, and protection than a real Bison.

I used the shape of the egyptian pyramids to help tie in an aspect of a different culture, to give the painting a more universal and ancient quality.

Also, drawing on ancient references, I researched some of the oldest known writing in the world. The Dispilio Tablet is a wooden tablet bearing inscribed markings, unearthed during George Hourmouziadis's excavations of Dispilio in Greece and carbon 14-dated to approximately 7300 BP or 5260 BC. It was discovered in 1993 in a Neolithic lakeshore settlement that occupied an artificial island near the modern village of Dispilio on Lake Kastoria in Kastoria regional unit, Greece.-wikipedia
As I understand it, it is the oldest writing in the world. No one can decipher it but that makes no difference to me. I think it is amazing that people were capable of so much, so long ago. Humans are an amazing.

Of course I had to throw in some sacred geometry. The flower of life has been found in many different continents and cultures throughout mankind's history, which makes it pretty rad.

So there's my explanation. It is finished (for now). Peace Out.