When is a painting finished?

This has cropped up twice this week, the most recently unexpected. The first time was after returning from the unpleasant experience of Cazilhac market I started a very big canvas - 185 cm tall, 110 cm wide. After a day of hacking away at the canvas, this is what I came up with:

I didn't think it was finished, but others (on redbubble especially) did. But I wasn't happy with the figure in the painting which looked to contrived, and sort of alien - and frankly it was unnerving.


So I kept on going at this painting and added various things, and took away others. Firstly I added a tree - like had been at the Cazilhac market - an enormous serpentine plane tree, with leaves everywhere breaking up the bright Mediterranean light.


I then decided it needed some life - some people and a dog. So I remembered some people I saw at the marketv - those that had stood out to me (not necessarily in a good way) and in they went. 


But I wanted to keep the abstract/expressionist feel to it, so kept on going the rest of the week. Adding more colours, shapes, contrasts, lines, textures. 


Anyway, this is what I finished today:

So was the extra work worth it?




So this afternoon I decided I wanted to start a new canvas. A bit smaller, but not small, 116cm x 81cm. After going to Ganges Market this morning I wanted to continue the market theme but build the new painting around the musicians playing in the cafe. Normally I sketch a composition onto paper first, but I had a strong image in my head, so i got out my pen and drew straight onto the canvas. 






This is what I drew:
I really like it. I'm very happy with the lines and the simplicity of the image and how it all fits together. But I can't leave canvas like this can I?

What do I do?