Suspended In Time-Painting Time Frame

Recently, I was asked, “How long should it take to finish a painting?” Unless you work for someone where you are under a distribution timeline, then the simple answer to the question is: whenever you, the artist, think it’s done. Instead of approaching a painting with predefined expectations of when it should be finished, we should trust our intuition and let the painting tell us when it’s a completed work. I know this may sound Hippie Dippy, but our real glory as artists is our imagination, and this is one area where time, schedules, deadlines should be put aside. A painting, in my humble opinion, is not a “thing” with an end point. It can take a few hours, several months, or years.

Let’s look to some of the Master painters for reference. Van Gogh averaged four days. Rembrandt took three years to complete the “Night Watch.” Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” (according to the Louvre, 1503-1519) took 16 years, and Jackson Pollock’s period of creation spanned weeks. It is clear time frames are personal and do not serve as a barometer to a better work than another based on hours put into the canvas. This is a personal journey and is not of the sphere of an immediate experience.

Other variables to consider as well are the type of paint, drying time, thickness of layers, humidity, etc. For example, watercolor paintings typically dry fairly quickly compared to other types of paint. In a matter of minutes they can be touch-dry and do not undergo a chemical reaction or “cure” the same way as oil or acrylic paint, instead they remain water-soluble. Which means you can re-wet after drying and work back into the painting even years later. (as long as a fixative spray has not been applied over the watercolor) On average, acrylic paint takes 3-4 days to fully cure, although to the touch it feels dry after 60 minutes. Oil paint cures through oxidation, and the process takes 3-6 months, which must be dry before applying the final varnish coat.

The explosive growth of technology/social media puts incredible pressure on not just artists, but in many fields of work, to churn out content like a conveyor belt at a factory. If we come to understand that creating art under pressure of time constraints (most often the voice in our head) and current trends may not be conducive to genuine creativity…

The trick is discovering a process tailored to your own talent and intuition, and putting it out into the world without pre-conceptions, against the course of all understanding. Now, doesn’t that sound like ART?!?! Painting from within and mirroring ourselves, really seeing the light, textures, and shadows. Artists should be disciplined but also allow themselves room for mistakes. Often, mistakes in one painting are another painting’s solution. So, create Art/Paintings/Sculptures, etc., and operate on your own terms and time frame. Be kind to yourself with an open mind to bring your art to life.