10 things to do after finishing your artwork
Deciding when a painting is truly finished is challenging and I often return to make changes many times before finally declaring it finished. But that's not the end of the work as an artist. There is still work to be done! Here is my top 10 list of things to do after you’ve finished painting.
Check you really have finished
I really struggle with this. I get to what I think is the end only to see some detail that needs attention or something that's not quite right. If I'm honest, I'm not sure any of my paintings are truly finished but one has to stop somewhere!
So, the first task is to hang the painting up somewhere and let it rest for a while. Give yourself a week or two to keep going back and look at it. Are you really happy with it? No, then go back in and fix it. If you can get to a point where you are as happy as you're going to be then you can declare your painting finished. I must confess I find this harder to do with detailed paintings such as landscapes and much easier with abstracts, which I think are more forgiving.
2. Finish the edges
This task has caught me out so many times. I'd finished my painting and left it on my studio wall waiting to be sold when the sale comes and I realise that the painting looks untidy and unfinished. Panic! I now have to ask the customer if they want to frame it or wish to hang it as it is. If the latter then it's going to need some work.
Generally, if painting on stretched canvas with narrow edges I simply finish off by painting the edges in black or white or, sometimes, the dominant colour in the painting. I certainly don't try to wrap the picture around the edges of the canvas.
If I've painted on a deep-edged box canvas I tend to be thinking ahead and decide early on whether to wrap the image around and therefore paint the edges as I go or decide to just use a solid colour as with the stretched canvas. Either way, a box canvas is far less forgiving because these tend not to be framed.
Unfinished edges on stretched canvas - fine if you’re framing.
3. Sign your painting
Signing your painting should be the last time you touch it with a paintbrush. I try to be absolutely certain that I'm finished because, for me, signing is a symbolic moment of closure.
Signing might seem simple but painting a signature is not as fluid and natural as it is when you sign with a pen on paper. It is usual to sign using the same medium you painted with but you may need to dilute the paint to help it flow. The colour matters too. If you have a very dark painting you won't want to sign in titanium white! I try to use the dominant colour in the painting but dial down the saturation so the signature doesn't distract from the painting.
If you have a common name you may want to consider how to make yours look unique. Simply adding an initial could work or, if you have a long name, perhaps just initials. I spent a lot of time deciding on my personal form.
I also sign in the same place (bottom left) but famous artists like Vincent van Gogh signed in unusual places depending on the image. Sometimes, especially with my abstract art, I won't sign on the front at all and some commissions the clients have asked for the signature to be on the back, known as en verso.
For completeness, I also print my name and sign again on the back of the painting and also include the title of the work and the date it was finished.
4. Give it a title
I don't know if one needs to name every painting but I find it invaluable in helping me keep track of what I've produced. Sometimes the title can be obvious like “woodland stream” but with abstract art you can have some fun with naming and get quite imaginative. In fact, I often ask my followers and subscribers to suggest names which also helps build engagement.
Trust me, you really do want to name your paintings. After my first year of being highly prolific in creating artwork I found it very difficult to keep track of which paintings I had in stock or sold!
5. Photograph your painting
This task goes hand in hand with naming. You will need good quality photos of your paintings for a variety of reasons: updating your website, advertising your work to keeping track of what you've created. You'll also want an image for your Certificate of Authenticity.
Photographing paintings is an entire post of its own so, for now, I'll just say that your images need to be well focussed and framed, of high enough quality to be enlarged but not so large that your website grinds to a halt.
6. Create your Certificate of Authenticity
If you're going to sell your artwork you need a CoA. Why? Because it looks professional and enables the buyer to have a record that shows that it was you as the artist that produced the artwork and can help with maintaing its value in the future. I've posted before on this and you just need the basic details of what it is, dimensions, genre, media, a picture and any other details you think useful, such as how to care for the piece. Having spent hours producing these when orders came in I'm now glad that I create them as part of my finishing up process.
7. Apply varnish
Acrylic paint will, in all probability, last for years but if you're selling your paintings you'll want to be sure that they can stand the test of time. Varnishing will protect the paint from fading caused by UV damage from sunlight and prevent dust penetrating into the paint resulting in a dulling of the colours. Varnish can be applied as permanent or non-permanent. With the latter, a specialist could remove the varnish and bring the painting back to its former glory. With the former, once the varnish is applied, that's it!
Personally, I varnish with a non-permanent matt varnish because I like the finish. It goes on milky white and drys clear but without the glare you get from gloss finishes. It is, though, a matter of personal choice.
Just a word of warning: be sure your painting is totally dry before varnishing. Acrylic paintings can take up to two weeks to dry whilst oils can take anything up to a year. Varnish too soon and you risk smearing your painting.
8. Frame it
Not all of your paintings will need to be framed. Box canvases for example can be painted on the edges and hung as they are. Paintings on paper will need mounting between card, at the very least.
In some cases, particularly if the edge finish isn't great I will frame the painting myself. However, there is a risk that a potential customer could be put off if the frame isn't to their taste. Most of the time I leave framing until a customer requests it.
9. Update website
If you have your own art website now is the time to add your painting. Include at least one good quality photo but, if you can, I'd also suggest an image showing the painting hung in a room so that a customer can imagine what it would look like in their home.
Be sure to include as much detail about your painting as possible including your inspiration or reason for creating the piece.
10. Advertise and promote
Finally, all you have to do is let the world know you've created something. It's all very well getting it onto your website but, unless you have a huge following, very few will know your painting exists unless you tell them.
Update your blog to announce the new piece, post on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. I'd also recommend posting to Facebook and eBay market groups and also to at least one on-line shopping platform. I use Etsy (this is not sponsored!) but I'm sure there are many others you could use. The beauty of these is that they do a lot of the hard work for you.
One final bit of advice: make sure your website prices match prices anywhere else you sell or advertise. Customers don't like to find out that they could have paid less somewhere else for the same thing!
Ten steps to complete so you can truly say your painting is finished! Good luck!
