All art is a synthesis of our experiences of life. This synthesis can be wilfully made from observed elements as in the case of abstraction, or it can be informed in more symbiotic non-predetermined ways as in working in the abstract. Each of these approaches has to deal with the element and conditioning of time. Working within a singular time frame tends to produce more superficial work. The problem, though, is one of preserving a freshness of execution, as the laboured ‘over-time’ approach can lapse into configuration and even worse ‘composition’, which imbues the work with a generality of feeling. How then to maintain the freshness but also consolidate a work over multiple time frames? From this question it becomes obvious that the start of the work must be as potent as at any point within the duration of its making. My grandmother used to say “start the year as you mean to go on”, which can be transposed to “start a painting as you mean to go on”. The synthesised, abstract artwork must place as much purchase on us as the observed world that covertly informed this synthesis. In short, both ends of the experience must balance upon the pivot of the work. When we immerse ourselves in activities, it is the conquering of time that brings the most satisfaction. What this looks like in an abstract work of art is constantly to be discovered.