Three decades to finish a painting

My drawings have also shown me how much my interests have changed. Like a diary. I look at a drawing from a few years back that I had intended to finish and now I feel no attachment to it at all. I have moved on. That tells me that whatever I'm working on needs to be finished, signed and framed quickly for it to have some kind of relevance.
 
Oh, when I think about all the drawings and digital files I have manipulated with the intention of making paintings of them, I start to shutter! I didn't even think of that. I have a number of files. Luckily, I'm very organized with these things and could easily count them.

I don't think I should count the dozens of blank canvases, panels, and blank sheets of watercolor paper I have however. That doesn't seem relevant to this idea of how long it takes to create a painting. Wouldn't it be from the intention (idea/inception) to the finish? I am done when I sign the bottom and the back, title it, number it, and document it. Done. :)
 
Oh, when I think about all the drawings and digital files I have manipulated with the intention of making paintings of them, I start to shutter! I didn't even think of that. I have a number of files. Luckily, I'm very organized with these things and could easily count them.

I don't think I should count the dozens of blank canvases, panels, and blank sheets of watercolor paper I have however. That doesn't seem relevant to this idea of how long it takes to create a painting. Wouldn't it be from the intention (idea/inception) to the finish? I am done when I sign the bottom and the back, title it, number it, and document it. Done. :)
I agree that every drawing that I start has the intention of finishing it fully attached to it. I look back at my unfinished work and wonder if the problem is with my subject matter. I used to think I would be too one dimensional if I didn't spread out my interests. Landscapes, still life, ect. Then one day I thought about where my passion really is. It's a person's face. Their eyes. I could literally spend all of my life juices searching for the true essence of the human soul. Looking for their likeness, what makes them unique. After I figured that out I was able to relax. Sometimes when I am struggling I can almost hear a little voice whisper "Just draw what you see." Suddenly I start seeing lines and angles and values. That is when time stands still.
 
I have several, one I'm just so totally uncertain about so I simply study it, and one I started before I deteriorated and had to stop on. It is a copy of a favorite painting, and both are safely stored near by until I have the energy to work on it.
I don't "lose" time, but there have been instances when I look up and suddenly it's hours later...
 
I have several, one I'm just so totally uncertain about so I simply study it, and one I started before I deteriorated and had to stop on. It is a copy of a favorite painting, and both are safely stored near by until I have the energy to work on it.
I don't "lose" time, but there have been instances when I look up and suddenly it's hours later...
That, my friend, is losing time.
 
My "problem," or may it's not a problem at all (I'm learning that many it's not), is that I am interested in a few different subject matter. As long at I stay authentic in my approach, I think it will be okay.

I like abstract work and the landscape. They intermingle and I like using straight oil painting, and/or mixed media. I also like watercolor, which typically leans toward the illustrative. I'll often bring in a cartoon quality, even using odd characters, but don't have issue mixing them into abstract compositions. This might sound like my work is all over the place, and maybe it is, but I'm always striving to make it all work somehow.
 
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