FAQ: How long does it take you to create a painting?

As an oil painter I get asked this question all the time and I struggle to answer it. 

Part of my struggle to answer it is I don’t keep track of my brush hours. Sometimes I paint in multiple short bursts of 10-15 minute sessions and other times I paint in 6+ hour long marathon sessions. 

Every painting can also be very different. If you were to consider two paintings of the same size and style one would generally think that the time it took to create them would be about the same. But this is rarely the case. 

Some paintings flow out of me so fast I can barely keep up with my brush. Other pieces are a huge struggle and may take me months to finish. This is simply the nature of the process. 

The other part of my painting process that is hard to explain is that the most important and time consuming work doesn’t happen when I have a brush in my hand. 

Each piece has countless hours of meditation and forethought before it even begins and many more hours of reflection in between painting sessions. 

These periods of reflection are where the magic happens. Only by setting a piece aside for contemplation can I see the parts that really matter and those that are lacking and adjust from there. Sometimes a piece may only require a brief period of reflection and a couple touch ups. Other times a piece may require days or weeks of reflection and need whole areas reworked. 

So how long does a painting take to create? Anywhere from 6 to 100 hours. Not including all the other work that is required for a painting such as priming, varnishing, framing, photographing, documenting, writing descriptions, posting it online, etc. 

Was my answer surprising to you? Please leave a comment if you have any follow up questions or thoughts!

-Alexandra Verboom Fritz

Painting the Traditional West Alive Today

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