A phrase used by the American contemporary painter Alex Kanevsky, “painting on the edge of incompetence”, caught my eye. The idea is that if you’re working within your familiar bounds, you’re boring, not learning anything, and just producing widgets. If you’re painting outside your familiar bounds, you’re incompetent: almost by definition, you don’t know what you’re doing. But if you’re “painting on the edge of incompetence”, then you’re pushing your own boundaries, still having a bit of control but running the risk of having it crash and burn. And by definition, your boundaries just expanded … regardless of whether the painting is a success or failure. Sound advice methinks.