Quick and Beautiful: Painting When Time Is of the Essence

Sometimes a painting has to happen fast: a deadline, a fading light, a model who won't hold still, or simply an hour that's all you've got. Here's how I work when the clock is against me.

Choose the subject you already know. A tight schedule is not the moment to wrestle something unfamiliar. Pick a subject you've painted before or have good reference for, and let recognition do some of the work for you.

Set up before you start. Paints, brushes, palette, reference, all within reach. Five minutes of arranging buys you twenty of uninterrupted painting.

Sketch with almost nothing. One horizontal line and a few points of reference are plenty, and where you put that horizon is entirely up to your sensibility 😱. Keep the strokes light so you can still move things while they're cheap to move.

Block in your colors. Big brushes, working fast, covering the canvas. Don't think about detail yet; just get the major colors in place so the whole thing reads at a glance.

Work general to specific. Large shapes first, then down toward the small ones. If you catch yourself adding detail in the first minute or two, you've zoomed in too soon, so pull back out.

Mix a harmony and stay in it. Some painters preach a strictly limited palette; I disagree. A few blobs of premixed color spare you from mixing tints on the fly. Settle a harmony first, a set of colors that resonate with you personally, and stay inside it.

Don't overwork it. The real danger under time pressure is fussing. Resist going back "just to fix one thing." Step away, look from a distance, and let it be.

Q: When am I done? A: You'll know.

Featured Artwork

Strawberry Delight

Own a piece of Massimo's work. Currently available for purchase.

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