Good Answer!

I received a great answer from my artist friend Rob Hooper about my question "How long does it take to paint a painting?". His answer: "All my life". Which really is true. Like all of us, I didn't just come out of my mother's womb knowing what I know now.

When an artist (or any profession for that matter) studies their subject for enough time, it becomes second nature to draw it, talk about it, and redesign it. Sometimes it has to be ripped up, reanalyzed, and deconstructed before it takes its shape or comes into its full 'being'. Ideas and creations are like that.



Let's do a quick (and a non-exhaustive) comparion of the following:



the one on the left created in 2000, the other a few years later:





















a little different technique, style and colour palette.

How about these two?
Left: early. On the right, years later:




















Geez... I've doodled, sketched and painted the piano so many times over the years (never mind seeing one every day of my life while I was anchored on the bench practicing) that I could draw one in my sleep... dreams or nightmares, take your pick!

That's only getting to know your subject. Then there's the time (in hours and years) it takes an artist to know their medium... it's definitely a relationship that has its germinating and growing stages. Maybe you change or add to your medium - this is the fun part for me. But without challenge, change and growth, what IS the fun?

I wish I would have taken more pictures of the stages I've gone through to document my progress. No time like the present, and the past is only a second away. From this time on, I hope to only learn more, process the ideas the ideas that are constantly popping in and out of my head, and enjoy myself doing it -- AND take lots of pictures along the way.

... there's also the question of how I came up with this technique

... but let's save that one for another day.