The Point of No Return

The hardest part of painting isn’t starting. It’s stopping.

Particularly with abstraction, there’s no clear signal. No moment when the painting suddenly looks correct.

You stop when the work feels like it doesn’t need you anymore.

That feeling isn’t logical. It’s physical. The surface settles. The tension feels intentional rather than accidental. Adding more paint would feel like interference rather than improvement.

Of course, sometimes I ignore that feeling and add one mark too many. Usually that’s when it all turns south, and the painting is overworked.

But painting isn’t about getting everything right. It’s about paying attention long enough to recognise when the work has found its own balance — and having the discipline to leave it there.

Over time, when to stop becomes more instictive, but sometimes, when you look at it on the wall days later, I can never stop myself think, but what if ……