How to get unstuck from the messy middle of an abstract painting

Oh My Gosh... I feel so stuck. This panting needs fixing, but the last time I tried...  I ruined it.
One of my student said those exact words to me recently, and honestly? My heart instantly sank because I’ve said the exact same thing to myself more times than I can count.

You know the feeling. You start a painting session with real excitement. You pick up your brush, find your way into the flow, and create marks that feel alive.

But then... you step back.
Suddenly, the intuitive part is over, and you hit a wall. You know the painting isn’t finished yet, but you have absolutely no idea what it needs next.

Welcome to the messy middle.

When most of us hit this phase, we do the exact same things:

1. We walk away to get "fresh eyes" (but the problem is still there when we get back).

2. We start looking outside of ourselves—scrolling Instagram, asking friends, comparing our work to our favorite artists.

3. We get back to the canvas driven by doubt, and we paint over the exact parts we originally loved until the piece feels flat and overworked.

If you’ve been here, I want you to know something important: The messy middle is not a problem to solve. It’s a place you have to learn to be in.

The paintings that truly move people almost always come through a stretch where the artist was completely lost. The messy middle isn't an obstacle to the painting—it is how the painting is created.
So, how do you stop losing your best work to this awkward phase? How do you move past the fear of ruining it?

If you relate to this... On YouTube, I broke down exactly what causes the messy middle, why "ugly" paintings actually matter more than you think, and the exact shift that happens on the rare days we get to skip the messy middle entirely.

Watch the video here: