“The senses always operate in the present. To look at something is absolutely a different experience from remembering the look of something. Once painters began to work from direct observation … a new time element enters painting.”
Andrew Forge, “Monet at Giverny”, page 11
The time it takes to create an individual painting is a measure of multiple things, though I suspect most people asking “how long did it take you to paint?” mean the time spent with a brush in my hand spreading paint on a surface.
Time spent figuring out what a particular art material does, until manipulating it becomes intuitive, muscle-memory driven. Learning to use a dip or fountain pen, permanent or water-soluble ink, took time.
Now I sit in a landscape and draw without having to spend time on how my fude pen nib works; my time is spent using it, enjoying it, and looking. There’s always something to see differently.
