Realism

Not all realism is alike.

Since so called realistic, as well as impressionistic painting requires abstraction from reality, no two dimensional work can ever be totally "real", not even photorealism. The painter has a choice as to how much he or she wants to (or can) adhere to the scene at hand.

For me, realism is not about slaving over detail, nor is it about sticking to the correct number of trees, waves or rocks in nature, but it is about conveying the overall impression I get from the scene: The movement, the light, the texture of things, the temperatur and if possible the joy of being part of it all.

When is a painting finished?

Knowing when to stop is always an issue and sometimes a problem with painters. You get so involved and fascinated by the process of creating and refining the image, that it is hard to quit at the right time. Who hasn't ruined a painting by overworking it?
A good painting should be good at any stage, right after the block-in, half done and at the end.
Some paintings look better when they remain sketch-like, others when they have more detail. The personal preference of the painter and the viewer have, of course, a lot to do with the way of judging this, but my rule of thumb is the following:
A painting can be considered finished when no additional time spent working on it will improve it.