Sitting, Looking, Thinking-Too Slow! I Wanna Be Bionic!

I tend to paint slow. I have started to force myself to try and paint faster. Now, I set time limits and so forth. But is hard for me.  I will start a painting and set the timer for about 60 minutes and go for it.  I usually start off great but then I want to sit and look at it. Think about it. Study it. This comes from being an abstract painter. That is a very philosophical endeavor. With  my abstract painting, there's lots of sitting, looking and thinking. (Mind you, I have two kids running around, if I am painting at home. So there really isn't any time to be so slow! This is when a bionic arm would come in handy...)

There's a place for everything and most of my abstract work will still develop this way. Sometimes one painting will take me a year or three years to finish! I am not a slap the paint on, dance around and "Voila -It's Done" type... There's nothing wrong with that if you are but it's not how I approach my abstract work. See my website [link].

That is why I find painting realistically; figures, landscapes and still lifes,  so refreshing. It doesn't have to be so cerebral. You see it and paint it and it's done. Realism has its own type of beauty.  The problem is that I've been approaching my small realistic pieces (which I will start showing you this Fall) like my abstract work and that has to STOP.  I want to be faster.... yeah, like the Six Million Dollar Man-Steve Austin) -

Why? Because painting faster allows you to develop brush mileage. That builds confidence in every stroke you make with your brush or palette knife.  Many times, confidence and "surety of stroke" can lead to a successful painting. That confidence is attractive to buyers. So I want it. Period.

So everyday I practice, I get better than I was before.  I get better, stronger,  faster.

Ok, now I am nostagic. Time for a Six Million Dollar Man clip. For those of you not familiar with the TV show, wait to the end to hear Oscar Goldman quote me. Ha! I grew up with this stuff- Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, Hulk and Six Million Dollar Man....awe memories... Listening to this clip makes me grin from ear to ear!