How Long my Art Takes

Years ago my mother said I should spend more time on my paintings and they would be better. That was somewhat true because I was rushing at the time. Sometimes I still do and I go back and fix up the painting later. If I hate something I did, including the subject matter -- not just my technique, I often paint over something completely. When I hear some people spend 40+ hours on a piece I'm shocked. Unless it was a big mural or big canvas with tons of people and details in it, I can't imagine spending that much time on a painting. For me an acrylic painting usually takes maybe 7-8 hours. I start out with a rough idea of what I want to paint, outline it with paint, then start painting everything in, putting whatever color strikes me at the moment. Because I like color so much, most of my work is inspired by Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Occasionally (especially for some paintings of people)I make the paintings a bit more realistic. Though I do more Impressionism-type people, too. If I don't like something I just paint over it. I add color until I think adding anything more would ruin the piece. I try not to overwork pieces, but sometimes I go back and add more detail and fix things if I think I underworked something. Painting for me is very much intuitive and less about thinking and calculating. I don't think I'd have the patience to do a meticulous 40 hour painting, just like I don't have much patience for other crafts. I am not very good at scrapbooking, though I like the concept of it. My scrapbooking is very simplistic.

5 Gratitudes+1

1. My laptop has shipped
2. Seeing an old childhood friend
3. Having a mocha that isn't too many calories
4. Reading Rose Bride by Nancy Holder
5. Michael's dental appointment going well
6. Watching the movie Adam