The underpainting is fresh, just tone and shadow.
A faint suggestion of something emerging.
And in that moment, before any colour hits the canvas, the painting is perfect.
Not because it’s complete but because it’s got potential.
Nothing has gone wrong. There are no mistakes to fix. The best work you’ve ever made might be a few brushstrokes away.
Then you start to add the first touches of colour.
It’s genuinely exciting; you’re making decisions. Things are beginning to take shape, and as the painting progresses, you’re feeling confident.
And then, somewhere in the middle, it happens.
The ugly stage arrives.
A Series of Stages
A painting is not created all at once. It develops through a series of stages, and almost every stage temporarily sacrifices one quality, in order to build another.
You lose simplicity to gain structure.
You lose freshness to gain form.
But this stage, this stage feels like everything has hit you at once.
Last week I received an email from Samantha, who has been following the Market Day Peaches Still Life Course with her children (Aged 9 and 13).
“During Lesson 2, my son was saying how ugly his work looked, but as we later sat on the couch and looked at his painting… it looked so good! Haha.”
I love this so much. Not just because it’s a lovely image, the three of them on the sofa, looking at the painting with fresh eyes, but because it captures something I genuinely believe is one of the most important things to understand about making art.
The Obstacle is the Way
There’s a coding school in Paris called 42, founded by French entrepreneur Xavier Niel.
Applicants spend weeks working through problems they’ve never encountered before. They’re given challenges that leave them stuck. The school isn’t testing whether someone can code. It’s testing what happens when they hit a wall.
Do they keep going?
Do they break the problem into smaller pieces?
Do they ask for help?
Do they come back the next day and try again?
If a student gets stuck, they’ll often seek out someone who struggled with the exact same problem a week earlier. The solution isn’t always finding the answer immediately. It’s learning how to work through uncertainty.
What struck me when I first heard about this is how familiar it sounded. Because painting works exactly the same way.
Every painter encounters walls. A colour mixture that won’t work. A drawing that looks wrong. A painting that suddenly loses all sense of form halfway through. The difference is that when you’re painting alone, it’s easy to assume that getting stuck means you’re failing.
It doesn’t.
It means you’ve reached the next problem to solve.
This is one reason following a structured course can be so powerful. The path has already been laid out.
You know the painting has an ending because someone else has already walked the route before you. You know that the awkward middle stage eventually leads somewhere.
The challenge isn’t completing the entire painting in one leap. It’s identifying the next problem.
What often discourages painters isn’t the difficulty of the task itself. It’s imagining all the future problems they haven’t solved yet.
The ugly stage isn’t a sign you’ve taken a wrong turn.
It’s often proof that you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.
And what happened to Sam’s children and their paintings?
They finished them.
Gessa – Age 9
Joseph – Age 13
With some encouragement and a reminder that the goal wasn’t perfection, it was the experience of working through the process.
“This project was one of our favourites this past school year.”
Paintings rarely reveal themselves all at once.
They unfold gradually, layer by layer, decision by decision.
Experienced painters have learned not to panic when the middle gets dark.
They recognise the ugly stage for what it is: not failure, but evidence that the painting is still in progress.
If you’re judging something that isn’t finished yet. It’s like reading half a novel and deciding whether the story was worth telling before you’ve reached the final chapter.
So keep going. Add the next brushstroke. Solve the next problem. Give the painting a chance.
Because until you’ve reached the end, you don’t know what you might create.
Wow. What a wonderful story and fantastic paintings by the two young painters! Thank you for the inspiration and encouragement.
Thanks Sally, yes they’re really fantastic paintings, aren’t they? Really it is a great inspiration to see how they followed through with the paintings. Glad you enjoyed the article.
Will
What a great article, Will. Thank you so much for writing it. Whilst I am primarily a watercolour painter I do read every article you post and they have do much to say across all the mediums. I am sure at some point I will pluck up the courage to re-engage with acrylics and maybe invest some time into oils.
Thanks Tim, I’m glad you enjoyed the article.
Yes, I think many of these principles carry across different mediums. Whether it’s acrylics, oils, watercolours, or drawing, the challenge is often less about the materials themselves and more about the stories we tell ourselves before we begin.
Will
Hi Will. I enjoy your thought provoking posts. I think channeling artistic expression is hard and I believe the most valued aspect of painting. Perhaps for some it comes more naturally. But, yes, courage to be patient to see a particular painting through, however long it takes.
Hey Laura, yes, very true. I often think that expression is less about trying to put something into a painting and more about allowing enough time and space for it to come through.
Will
Thanks Will for a very interesting and informative article.
I have learned to keep my disappointing efforts on view until I get the lightbulb moment and can carry on.
The young artists’ paintings are impressive.
Best wishes
Shirley
My pleasure Shirley, glad you enjoyed seeing their paintings.
Will
What terrific paintings from the two young artists! You’re a very calm, patient teacher Will!
Thank you for another inspiring post Will. I think sometimes is also important to walk away for a while, an hour, a day or however long feels right so you can look at it with new eyes. I’m sure you have mentioned that in some of your courses!
And not to think that you have to complete a piece in one go, especially as a novice artist.
Yes, coming back with fresh eyes can really be so helpful in reviewing your paintings
That was a great story and so true, many a time I have reached the ugly stage and stuck with it (not always though), and some how it came out fine. I keep in mind I still have lots to learn and stop panicking. These are great paintings from Gessa and Joseph and part of the wonder of what’s going to happen if you don’t give up. Thanks Will.
Thanks Gail, yes, they have done some lovely work.
“A Beginning, a Muddle and an End.” Phillip Larkin
Wise words indeed!
Hi Will. I really enjoyed reading your article. “Paintings unfold gradually… They recognise the ugly stage for what it is: not failure, but evidence that the painting is still in progress.” This is so good! (Almost like a life motto>don’t give up!) Thank you for sharing our story Will, and so happy it can inspire others as well. You are a wonderful teacher!
My absolute pleasure Samantha, thanks for sharing your kids epic paintings.
Will
My paintings always have an ugly stage! I have learned to expect it and move on! Hahaha
One thing that I have learned from taking your courses is that I do not need to panic at the ugly stage. It happens every time, and I inevitably feel that I have lost my way. I know from experience (and trust!) that if I push through, it will suddenly come together. The first few times it worried me, but now I just “crack on”, as the British say. Thanks for everything Will. I really enjoy your blog posts. :)
You’ve got it Sonja, keep calm and crack on!
Really helpful advice Will! So often I get stuck in a rut about a painting I am half way through and lose all of my confidence …but i have never thought of it as solving problems, makes total sense, now that you say it: as you add another item to a painting, the more shades are added into the equation! Never thought of it like that before and a useful reminder to help both me and the kids that I work with, to not give up! :-)
Hey Jo, Yes, having it as a reframe can really help. And you’re so right that the further the painting progresses, the more elements there are in it that can influence your perception or what you’re looking at, so seeing in this way as what is just the next problem to solve can really be helpful to break through to the next stage of the painting.
Will
You’ve inspired me to go back to my ugly painting which I abandoned. Maybe I can get there in the end. Thank you.
So pleased to hear that Janine, glad you’re feeling inspired.
That’s a great reminder, put really well and Gessa and Joseph have fone lovely work. Thankyou !
Cheers Jenny, yes they did amazing.
I used to give up when I hit the ugly stage but I finally learned to just clean up and put my supplies away and even turn the painting so I can’t see it. And then, after I’ve gone to sleep, the Painting Elves will come out and fix it. Mind you, they don’t finish it, they just make enough little corrections so that the next time I look at it, I see that (1) it’s actually in better shape than I thought it was and (2) I immediately realize that If I just do this here and then, that there, I’ll be on my way to finishing up as I had hoped to!
Most people call it “looking at it with fresh eyes” but it’s really the brilliant minute touches by the Painting Elves that make finishing the work possible. And that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! LOL!
Cézanne had a pet parrot, so honestly, painting elves feels entirely within the rules.
What you shared is absolutely true. Thank you so much Will for sharing this with us, it’s truly encouraging.
So pleased to hear that Sandra.
Will