Learning Moments

The Challenge of Knowing When to Stop.

Ik teken en schilder net zolang door totdat ik zeker weet dat het af is, ook al ga ik dan te ver.
I draw and paint until I am certain it is finished, even if I go too far.

Kinke Kooi

This is one of the three rules that Dutch feminist artist Kinke Kooi set at the beginning of her career. I discovered it at the entrance of a small solo exhibition in Leeuwarden featuring her oeuvre. I found her work beautifully complete, truly wondrous, and simply intriguing. The detailed paintings with fine lines and pastel colors have the power to transport you to another world – the world of the unseen, the world of folds, wrinkles, and pleats.

Her creative approach to continue painting and thereby pushing the boundaries eventually too far defines a wonderful paradox or wicked question:

How is it possible to continue exploring and experimenting in the pursuit of perfection or completeness, and simultaneously be fully aware and accepting the risk of going too far?

A wicked challenge

Have you ever felt torn between the desire to explore the full potential of your work or a creative project and the risk of overdoing it?

Striving for perfection and determining when to stop remains a delicate balance in art, work, and life, isn’t it?

I am currently facing this challenge as I write this blog entry. Initially, I wanted to make it simple and brief. But I found myself exploring more thoughts and adding more details, risking to overwhelm both you, the reader, and myself.

A deliberate choice

While I wonder asking myself how many more edits I should make and when it will be finished, a lesson from one of my recent blog entries comes to mind: I don’t need to say and paint everything. Deliberately leaving spaces open or ‘white’ fosters imagination, simplicity, and pauses, both in artistic and everyday activities. You can explore this concept in my earlier reflection here: Leaving Room for Imagination: About the Creative Power of ‘White Spaces’ in Art, Work, and Life.

What about you? How do you push the limits in what you are doing while also recognizing when it’s time to pause? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Painting: Nadia