Do You Want to Paint Fast? 4 Questions to Answer First
Ah yes, the dream of painting fast. You walk straight into the studio, brush immediately to paper, and create a masterpiece.
But hold on one second.
Painting fast isn’t inherently better or worse than painting slow. It depends on your personal goals for both your style and your process. It's useful to know WHY you want to paint fast because then you can make sure that it aligns with how you're approaching the other areas of painting.
Here are four questions to ask yourself about painting fast:
Do you want to paint fast because that’s how real artists work?
It can be easy to think that real artists work fast. But the truth is, real artists work fast and they work slow. There is no one right way to work. And it can take a long time and a lot of thinking to know how you want to work.
Artist John Salminen (Ep 38) started with the goal of fast and loose but then the longer he painted, the more he began getting interested in the detail of the painting. His process slowed down. Now his process takes a long time and he loves every step of it.
And if you want to create work that has a look and feel similar to artists like Salminen and Todd M. Casey (Ep.24) for example, I’ve got some bad speed news for you. Both artists paint extremely slowly. Their processes and their styles demand it.
And some styles just do. The more realistic your representational painting is, the slower that process probably is.
Likewise, some techniques in certain media demand a lot of drying time. For example, if you want to glaze in oil or love working wet on dry in watercolor, you’re probably actually interested in slower painting styles.
And that’s OK.
Figure out the kind of work you love and the speed at which those artists work. You might be surprised.
Do you want to paint fast because you want to finish paintings quickly?
There is something deeply satisfying about finishing a painting. Oil, acrylic and watercolor all offer approaches that make this a potential possibility for you.
In oil, it’s called alla prima or all at once. You work wet into wet and you finish the painting in one setting. Kim Smith (Ep.13) and Dreama Tolle Perry (Ep.18) are both examples of artists who work alla prima. (Although some of their painting sessions last all day.)
Acrylic allows you to work alla prima. bonus, acrylics dry extremely fast and for this reason, if you’re interested in glazing you have some options. You can also work wet into wet before your paints dry. Mark Mehaffey (plein air acrylic, Ep.5), Jed Dorsey (Ep.27), Debbie Miller (Ep.15) and Lisa Daria Kennedy (Ep.14) all work in acrylics and will often finish their paintings in a session.
In watercolor, if you want to finish a painting quickly, look to styles that take advantage of wet into wet. You’ll need to become skilled with moisture control to work this way and your work will probably need to be more impressionistic than photorealistic. Andy Evansen (Ep.12) is an example of a watercolorist who works wet-into-wet and often will finish a painting in a single session.
However, if the works of those artists don't appeal to you, you may be looking, again, for a way of painting that requires a bit more time.
You want to work fast because you are limited on time?
We are all limited on time and fast painting can seem like the miracle solution.
And if you’re not interested in the styles from above, there are ways to work that take advantage of smaller chunks of painting time.
For example, spend 15 minutes in the morning sketching and then doing thumbnails. Spend another 15 minutes doing color studies or drawing out your image onto your paper. Then when you get a longer chunk of time painting the first layer. Breaking it up into manageable pieces is exactly how Sarah Sedwick (Ep.22) approaches her practice.
Alternatively, work across several paintings at once. You may not finish a painting in a session, but you can be building up a second or third painting while previous ones dry.
If limited time is your reason for painting fast, choose a medium and a style that works with that or break apart your process and work across several at once.
But again, no matter your speed, make sure that you like the type of painting you’re working on.
Do you want to paint fast because you love the look of loose painting and you think you get it through fast painting?
Fast painting isn’t necessarily loose painting. Loose work comes from those artists who plan...and planning takes time.
This is because by problem solving before you begin your painting, you can stay fluid and in the moment later. Confusion and frustration tightens you up so by solving problems before you get out your paints, will help you loosen up.
To create loose work, make sure you have a good drawing on your paper or canvas. (Something that isn’t necessarily a quick process.) Confident brush marks and lost edges also create a sense of looser, more impressionistic work.
But if your goal is loose work, then you may actually need to add a little bit of time back into you process, slow down in the first planning steps and then enjoy the freedom that gives you later.
The Importance of Why
Working fast is a wonderful way to work. But fast for fast’s sake won’t necessarily get you the paintings you want. If you can figure out WHY you want to paint fast, those answers might help you get closer to creating the work you love.
Also the artists you love who work fastest can do that in part because of the hundreds and hundreds of hours they have put into their craft. That will be true for you as well. No matter your style or approach, the more you paint, the faster you will get.
Get more ideas on how to get better at painting by joining the Learn to Paint Podcast newsletter! Add your name and email below.