What phase are you going through?

I heard the artist Mark Eanes say that a painting has a beginning stage a middle stage and an end, and at all times you need to know where you are in the process. You could be at the end of the middle for instance, or the beginning of the end. I remembered that today when I brought out this red painting and for the first time it applied to me. The idea that there is a phase between the beginning when the paint is flying and the end when you have everything figured out has opened a door for me. I realise that I do not have to make big spontaneous changes at every pass. I can make smaller moves and still be putting everything into it. I can slow down and look at what’s there, a pause is not always procrastination and fear. I should always be prepared to lose what I have already painted, but maybe the basic design really is ok, for now. I thought I was stuck because I didn’t want to do anything radical but I knew it wasn’t finished. I accepted that I quite liked it already, and focused on specific areas that I didn’t like as much as the rest. By making these small changes I actually found that I’d moved the design on quite a bit by the time I’d finished. What I hadn’t done is turned it into a different painting.