Working on more than one work of art at the same time

Recently I was talking to a fellow artist about working on more than one art work at the same time. I was mentioning how doing so sometimes causes me to be stressed.  This often happens to me when I'm teaching and painting some of my personal projects. When I have a few on the go,  I have the urge to want to finish them. To be honest  I do have to finish the ones I'm demoing based on the class schedule. When I only have one or two of my own projects on the go, I don't get that feeling  of wanting to finish some and as a result  I can take my time to explore and finish a painting.  Normally when I'm focusing on a painting I'm totally drawn in.  Maybe have some distance would be helpful.

I've heard some master artists say they have up to 10 paintings on the go.  One of them claims that she loves the spontaneity of switching gears and not getting too consumed by any single image. By bouncing around, she feels that she keeps the work fresh.  Another artist likes to keep multiple paintings on easels in his studio and feels that he can apply the finishing touches because he's had time to reflect.

Maybe one day I'll be able to have multiple paintings on the go and not feel an urge to finish anything.  There rarely is a rush to finish any of my paintings, except that I'm excited to see what they looks like when finished.

Here is my latest demo from a weekend workshop. I wish that you could see how luminous this painting is.

Soaking in the Sun - 16"X12"

It's highly likely that my next 6-week class with the Kanata Art Club will be about old barns.  I will let you know when the class will be posted. In the meantime, you can start looking through your own photos of old barns for something you'd like to paint.

Have a great week

Danielle