This posting was stirred from a question on an art group that I subscribe to. The question arose about how long it takes to complete a work of art. Well, a lot of it depends on size, medium and time available for creating, but in general I could not believe some of the responses. The answer that shocked me was that one artist had waited 5 years for the right inspired moment to finish a painting and that she was in the process of working on 2 paintings that were 2 yrs old.
Years on a painting...WOW!!! That would have to be one HUGE painting (mural). Such a project would become so boring to me. I need newness. I have too many ideas to stay focused on any one project for that long. I could not imagine taking more than a week on a painting or drawing (two weeks or more on a sculpture because of the size that I like to work). I am waaay too anal ... I mean impatient for such long projects. Once the images of a project enter my head and I begin the process of creating for a finished work I must follow through until it is done. It almost becomes a narrow-minded obsession. If I stop for more than a day or two my mind and energies become focused elsewhere. I am solely dedicated to one project at a time. maybe that is why I switched to acrylics and left the oils behind (I hated the waiting process). Still, I am very good at multitasking in all other areas of my life. I guess when it comes to my art I purpose to slow down and give it my undivided attention, but it needs to be done in the constant now.
In summary, anything other than a sculpture usually takes me less than two weeks to complete. The closer to two weeks it takes me, the more my mind has begun to consider other things and it begins to feel more like work than the passion of my heart.
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14 years ago
Michele, you are an inspiration to me, and I love your work! Keep at it, your soul shows in your art.
ReplyDeleteRhonda
Hey Michelle,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, let me say how much I enjoyed looking at your work. You are certainly diverse and prolific. I detected maybe a hint of Picabia?
Concerning length of time, there was a fellow named Captain Beefheart (a musician as well as a painter) who, when asked how long it took to compose and record a peice replied that no one knows how long it took to paint the Mona Lisa, yet that hasn't affected peoples' perception of the painting.
I work primarily in pen and ink or pencil (I am biologically inadequate to express with a brush) and some things I do in a day. Other things will take up to 2 years due to the narrative quality of the composition.
Well, just thought I'd sign in on this and say that I agree with your credo. I, too, am happiest when in the process of creating, sort of like I'm using my art to barter for the air I breathe. It's a nice, and, I hope fair, trade-off.
Tomorrowly,
p2b
Thank you Rhonda for your kind words, please post again with information about your work if you are a fellow artist, or just comment. I am grateful for my first (and second) official blog comment(s).
ReplyDeleteTo P2B: I would love to see your work. Please feel free to share images of your work. I have been experimenting with ink and acrylics with interesting results and I do enjoy narrative art. I am still trying to understand the chemistry of ink and acrylics. Maybe my self-portrait will be done in this medium (its a goal of '08).
Concerning Picabia, I observed some if his work and I can see a connection, but I had not considered it until your comment. He had such versatility, and I really like his use of geometric shapes and values. I am most of all intrigued by Picabia's surreal roots, which is an area that i have not yet fully explored.