to begin, to develop, to pursue. to be surprised and to react. to dismiss and start from scratch. or leave it, after all? to wait until it happens and, then, to let it happen. to balance immediacy and reflection, control and abandon. convergence. when is a painting ever ready? standing before my paintings, my four-year-old nephew marvelled: "you paint like me!" when my paintings contain power, depth, ambiguity and mystery, when they touch the viewer, inviting them to stay a while, then they are complete. martin hilti