My sister brought me a beautiful bouquet on Thanksgiving. (Thanks Michelle!) The lilies have been springing open one by one and begging to be sketched, photographed, or something. I wanted to paint them, but that would usually take me hours, and things have been so hectic around here lately I couldn’t find the time. Today I decided to set a timer and paint my flowers for 30 minutes. Whatever I had after 30 minutes, good or bad, I was going to stop working on it.
I started painting at my usual slow and careful speed, but I glanced at the timer and saw I only had 15 minutes left! I panicked a little and started slapping paint down quickly and not worrying about mixing the perfect colors or even capturing the details. Once my panic subsided I realized the 30 minute limitation was actually kind of freeing. If my painting turned out terribly it wasn’t my fault—I only had 30 minutes after all!
In the end I’m pretty happy with my 30 minute painting. It has a sloppiness that I don’t usually allow myself, and it felt great to work a bit looser and not worry about the end result. I think I might make 30 minute paintings a regular thing. You guys should try it!
