Did I mention that painting is hard work? Learning to paint is like learning another language. Most people don't learn a new language overnight; it takes struggle and practice and lots of repetition. And if you ever think you've reached a level of competence but fail to use that newly acquired skill, it'll fall away quicker than you ever thought possible. You don't want to lose your fluency.
Each painting presents new challenges and opportunities for problem solving. I've been painting and repainting this one painting for a year. I almost scrapped it for the second time to start over but I decided to just put it aside for awhile and keep on struggling to get better and when I get better I'll return to it and figure it out.
When you look at the price of an original piece of art, you're not seeing the sum of an hourly rate but the accumulation of years of work. No amount of hard work is going to make some pieces become "art" and conversely, "art" is never achieved without a great deal of perspiration and perseverance. I will leave for another day the rant about "what is 'art'." For today's purposes, "'art' is work," albeit a labor of love.
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