Frequently asked questions: How long?

Now that I've posted my 'in progress' list on my website, I've gotten quite a few notes from friends saying "HOLY CRAP you are busy! How are you able to keep up that pace?"

Well... for starters, I am, admittedly, a workaholic. I have a hard time saying no, and so I have a tendency to over-book myself and it gets out of hand rather quickly! So, I tend to keep very long hours, spending anywhere from 8-12 hours in the studio each day. The days are broken up with doggie pottie-breaks and snuggling, email checking, and cleaning stalls down at the barn... but for beyond that I work straight through most days.

How long does one horse take?
For me, I find that because I do spend such long hours at the studio, I have several horses in various stages to keep me from loosing my mind... usually 3 or 4. I try to group similar colors or projects together for the simple reason that it cuts down on material costs (since I make my own paint, its easier to do it in larger batches). Also, it helps streamline the process a bit.

It takes anywhere from 36-50 hours to complete one traditional sized horse, from unpainted horse to ready-to-ship. Since my medium of choice is acrylics, I can occasionally work a horse straight through, however, usually I break up the process in order to really look at him and do quite a few self-critiques. (Does that look right? Does it look like the photos? Is he smooth enough? Is the shading enough, or not enough?). It really benefits any artist to spend a day or two away from a piece in progress and then look at it again with fresh eyes. I may do this four or five times during any one piece to make sure things are perfect.

After the actual paintwork is finished, each pieces gets several layers of finish and has to dry for about 24 hours, and the from there the horse can get packed up and ready to head out to its new home. :-)

Do YOU have questions? Post 'em in the comments section!