The dangerous moment when you start liking your painting
Oct 02, 2026
There’s a point in an abstract painting that used to catch me out all the time.
And strangely enough, it wasn’t when my painting looked terrible. It was when it started looking good. 🤔
I’d suddenly find an area I loved and think... Oh. I don’t want to lose that. And almost without noticing, I’d start protecting the painting instead of responding to it.
That made every new mark feel riskier, and every decision I needed to make bigger.
So after a while stopping started to feel like my safest option, even though my gut was telling me there was more to be done.
The problem was one I didn't see... because I wasn’t necessarily looking at a finished painting.
I was looking at a painting I’d become attached to.
Those are two very different things.
In the video below, I’m taking you through one of my paintings where I stop at this exact stage.
It reaches a point where I know a lot of people would tell me:
“STOP. It’s finished.”
But I don’t agree.
I’ll show you what I’m seeing, what I’m looking for before I call my abstract paintings finished, and why I eventually decide to put my brushes down... even when I know my painting isn't done.
If you’ve ever stopped a painting because you were scared of ruining the parts you already loved, I think this one will really help.
Want to go a little deeper? My free Clarity Kit is a great place to start. You'll get my Clarity Checklist plus the 3-part Clarity Workshop, where I walk you through variety, value, and color and show you how to start using them in your own paintings.