When is a painting finished?
I haven't painted in years, but I've spoken with others who struggle with the final steps, adding those finishing touches to artwork. This also applies to music, or writing.
How much pressure should an artist put themselves under to create a product they're completely happy with?
Today, if asked for an example of "genius", many would bring up the name Leonardo da Vinci - painter, scholar, engineer, inventor. He himself thought he could have done better. Here are his reported last words, translated into English:
Another great artist is Hokusai Katsushika, famous for painting thirty-six views of Mount Fuji. His last words:I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.
Now that's perfectionism.If heaven had only granted me five years more, I could have become a real painter.
