Have you ever heard someone say that a particular painting took 3 years to finish?
I have.
It was a very good painting. But I was taken back when I heard that the person worked that long on one piece of artwork.
It got me thinking…
Did she have to wait until her skill level was improved in order to finish the work?
Did she get stuck, not knowing how to finish the piece?
It has crossed my mind a few times in the past to do one painting every three months or so. In other words, to take a long time with one painting until it is the absolute best I can do.
I saw a pencil sketch that took 100 hours, done by a young artist. It was really amazing.
Have you ever thought of working, working and reworking a piece of art to where it was significantly better than when you first thought it was “done”?
All this is in contrast to those artists who turn out one painting a day or so. I like those paintings, too, and think they are cool and have value.
But What If?
But what if I set a goal of doing just 4 well-thought-out pieces in one year?
What if I allowed myself 3 months to finish one painting? What would happen?
Would I find myself pushing past my current skill level?
Would I create something I hadn’t imagined because I worked past the point when I normally would have stopped?
At the end of the year, would I have 4 paintings that I would be proud to show to a gallery owner?
It’s possible!
What are your thoughts?
Have you done this? Have you taken months to finish one creative piece?
If so, were you happy with the results?
Why did it take so long?
What do you think might happen if someone who normally creates something in a few days or a week suddenly spent 10 or 12 times as many days on the piece?
