The Art of Creation: How Long Does It Really Take to Create a Painting?

I don’t know about you, but I get asked this a lot. Can a magnificent painting be created in a day? I used to think no way. Leonardo da Vinci worked on the “Mona Lisa” for 16 years and Michelangelo took 3 years to sculpt “David”. One might think that if there isn’t a struggle then it can’t be great, but that just might not be true…

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve overworked a painting because I thought it couldn’t possibly be finished even though I really liked it. The experience was too fast and too easy, isn’t there supposed to be a struggle? I especially wrestled with these thoughts early in my art journey.

This might be a controversial opinion but I’m putting it out there, generally the quality of a painting isn’t directly proportional to the amount of time spent creating it. That’s right, read that again and believe it. Most of my least successful pieces have been major time suckers, basically just not meant to be. I recently created a beautiful piece in one sitting. It still isn’t signed or varnished, but I expect that it will be soon. I’m just going to let it sit for a while and then critique it for color, contrast, composition just to be sure.

This has been a winding road to come to the conclusion that time should not be a factor in determining great art or it’s value. If a painting sets your heart on fire, do you really care how long it took the artist to paint it? Painting is a journey that blends skill, inspiration, and dedication into a singular artistic expression. Maybe the answer is that it takes what it takes. If the artist is connected and in flow then a creation might be born in a snap. Or maybe there is something to be learned by a longer, more contemplative path to the finish line. Surrender control, take the passenger seat and go for the ride.

The question of how long does it really take to create a painting lingers as a mystery to both the artist and the collector, but I think the real question is why does it matter?