Patience: The Painter’s Cardinal Virtue
The thing that sets an artist apart is patience. The defining characteristic of the great master painters in the days to come, where AI threatens the very core of artistic being, is patience. Patience in painting covers a multitude of artistic sins.
In the age of social media, most artists know that, if an artist wants to succeed, one thing he or she must do, supposedly, is to create lots of Instagram reels. In order to get as many views as possible, the reels need to be short and simple, even ridiculous. For a long while, the trend was the artist waving their brush at an empty canvas and, pop, the work was done. Although we know (I hope) that the work wasn't produced in an instant, we still have no idea how long it took the artist to finish. Whether we realize it or not, artists have been shaped over the past century by a misapprehension regarding time.
The Joy of Painting is arguably the most popular painting show of all time. Bob Ross would finish a painting within a half hour using his oft misunderstood method (it's way harder than it looks, folks). People doing paint-alongs were often frustrated that it took them so long to paint what looked fairly simple for Bob. What no one tells you is that Bob Ross frequently painted other versions of the painting that ended up getting aired live. He always knew where he was going with that paint brush before he "beat the devil out of it." Plus, Brother Bob had been painting those scenes for many years.
Two of my favorite painting shows also feature artists who finish a piece within less than half an hour of what seems like a seamless, wet on wet first try.
I understand why painting shows, cooking shows, or home repair shows, compress the process to make it fit 30-60 minutes. It's good for entertainment and it guarantees a spot on television because it's not boring.
So, what does the obsession with producing frequently and making the process look fairly easy say about us? We are not, as a whole, very patient people.
Yes, I realize that modern conveniences and technology make producing artwork way easier than it used to be. But consider what it used to take to produce a masterpiece:
Da Vinci took 3-4 years to complete the Mona Lisa, which is only 30" x 21"
Van Gogh, though he often painted frantically and quickly, took over a year to finish the Starry Night.
Picasso could also work very quickly, but he still spent two years on one of his most famous works, Guernica.
Monet spent years working on Water Lilies.
Aside from da Vinci, these are more recent examples. I know that artists out there are taking a lot of time to finish masterpieces, and I'm thankful for artists who are straightforward about how much patience is required. In fact, I believe that the number one quality that makes an artist a master is not the ability to work quickly, but the ability to work slowly with laser focus over a long period of time. (Let me be clear: I am not there... yet.)
My favorite art show at the moment is Portrait Artist of the Year. For each heat of the competition, the artists only have four hours to complete a portrait of someone they've never painted before. However, with each artist's submission, the narrator explains how much time the works they submitted to get into the competition took. There has seldom been a master-quality work on this show that didn't take well beyond the 4 hour allotment. Many artists on the show produce remarkable pieces in a four hour period, but I'm thankful for the wisdom that takes into account what the artist can do when there isn't a time crunch.
As an artist, two of the most beautiful words a patron can tell you is: No rush. A patron who says that is someone who understands that quality requires patience. Otherwise, it's just a mass-produced artifact that does not really connect all that well to a person's soul. You can get that from Hobby Lobby. (Please don't, by the way.)
So, what's the point of this? Well, I think there are just two things I would suggest to artists, like me, who struggle with patience.
Tell people how long it really takes to do what you do, even in your reels. It can encourage other artists to keep pressing on, to be realistic about time, and could help combat the tendency in us to show off. We're not competing with AI (which lacks soul and therefore cannot reach the soul) nor should we be trying to show up other artists. Watching Mark Boedges work has been a rewarding experience. First of all, he is one of the best landscape painters in our country. And I believe he's that way because he is deliberate and patient. Knowing how he paces himself helps me to pace myself because, if I could paint half as well as him, I'd consider it a great accomplishment.
Take longer. Like I said, patience in painting covers a multitude of artistic "sins" like compositional weakness, lack of tonal variety, mud-mixing colors, etc. When you take your time, you can focus on things like compositional simplicity, color harmony, drawing, listening to guidance, etc. A good friend who was a professional house painter once told me, "The main difference between a good painter and a great painter is someone who goes back to check his drips." How many times have you had to sand down some hasty painter’s dried drips in your house in order to paint over it?
When it comes to this cardinal virtue, I myself am a plain old sinner. But, since I believe in the power of art to capture the true, the good, and the beautiful, it's worth all my best efforts to believe that my best work requires that I not hurry.
