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21 November, 2009

Mark Adams
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4 Comments

How long is a piece of string?

This is a question with no definite answer, but I was wondering how much time people spend on individual paintings. Sometimes I spend many hours spread over days and weeks on a painting and the painting may not come up to my personal expectation and I may feel it to be below par, yet on other instances I may be quite happy with a painting which I haven't spent all that much time on, for instance I may achieve something in a few hours which I would be personally happy with.

I think that on average I would spend three 8 hour days on a painting.

On average, how much time do you people out there spend on your paintings from start to finish, or is the time taken to start and finish a painting unknown every time?

4 Comments

Cole McLester 21 Nov 2009

Well Mark, it all depends. Sometimes I just walk up to a canvas and start painting and I am done in a relatively short time. If it is something which is an idea that has crept in my brain and starts naggaing at me then I will draw it in pencil then draw it again in prisma color and finally put it on canvas, this process can take a week or more. That is how it works for me anyhow.

Mark Adams 22 Nov 2009

I sometimes think that I would like to 'up' the productivity, but not at the expense of rushing a picture. It seems that some artists are so productive and seem to reel out lots and lots of very good paintings in a short period of time and not at the expense of quality.

Cole McLester 22 Nov 2009

That is a matter of practice, practice,practice. Motivation come in there somewhere, that is the one I can not keep at a constant rate.

Mark Adams 23 Nov 2009

Yes, I am the same - I wish I could keep my motivation levels up. Always seem to be motivated inside my head, but I dilly dally sometimes, but then sometimes I get this craving to actually 'do' when it is time for bed. Should seize the moment really because it is gone by morning. My motivation comes in spurts, but I am definitely a procrastinator and easily distracted.lol.