HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE? - COMBIEN DE TEMPS ÇA PREND?

English Version - *version française dessous*


HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?

One of the most frequent questions I get from visitors to my studio is “how long does it take to create a painting?”.   To which I respond, ‘’the short answer is 35 years!’’

 I’m being semi-serious when I say this because it has taken me 35 years of painting experience and experimentation to arrive where I am today!  Next year I will say 36 years! 

 

The longer more serious answer is “it depends” on several different factors. 

It starts with the paint I use.  I work exclusively with water based acrylic paints.  They dry extremely fast, even more so because my studio is kept between 25-30 Centigrade (77-86 Fahrenheit) when I paint.  This gives me the freedom to slow down or speed up the drying process.

 

The size of the painting is obviously a key factor.  A small 12” x 9” painting is a lot faster to do than one which measures 8’ x 8’!

 

Another major factor is the amount of texture on the painting.  I use rags, pasta, rope, screens, beads, stones, and modeling paste to create texture.  Each one of these mediums has different drying times.  A painting that features rags can take 2-3 weeks to dry, versus a pasta painting which may only take a week.


Because of all the variations in time, I will often have several paintings at different stages in my studio at any given time. 

 

If I had to average everything out, I’d say it takes about 1-2 weeks to complete a painting.

 PHOTO BY MARTIN CHAMBERLAND : PETER WATCHING THE PAINT DRY!


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Version française


COMBIEN DE TEMPS ÇA PREND?

L’une des questions les plus fréquentes que je reçois des visiteurs de mon atelier est « combien de temps faut-il pour créer un tableau ? ». À quoi je réponds, « la réponse courte est 35 ans ! »

Je suis à moitié sérieux quand je dis cela car il m’a fallu 35 ans d’expérience et d’expérimentation en peinture pour arriver là où je suis aujourd’hui ! L'année prochaine je dirai 36 ans !


La réponse  plus longue et  plus sérieuse est « cela dépend » de plusieurs facteurs différents.


Ça commence par la peinture que j'utilise. Je travaille exclusivement avec des peintures acryliques à base d'eau. Elles sèchent extrêmement vite, d'autant plus que mon atelier est maintenu entre 25 et 30 degrés Celsius (77 et 86 degrés Fahrenheit) lorsque je peins. Cela me donne la liberté de ralentir ou d’accélérer le processus de séchage.


La taille du tableau est évidemment un facteur clé. Une petite peinture de 12" x 9" est beaucoup plus rapide à réaliser qu'une peinture qui mesure 8' x 8' !

Un autre facteur majeur est la quantité de texture sur la peinture. J'utilise des chiffons, des pâtes, de la corde, des filets, des perles, des pierres et de la pâte à modeler pour créer de la texture. Chacun de ces supports a des temps de séchage différents. Une peinture comportant des chiffons peut mettre 2 à 3 semaines à sécher, alors qu’une peinture incluant des pâtes  ne peut prendre qu'une semaine. 


En raison de toutes les variations dans le temps, je travaille souvent simultanément sur des toiles avec des techniques différentes dans mon studio.


Si je devais faire la moyenne, je dirais qu’il faut environ 1 à 2 semaines pour terminer un tableau.


PHOTO DE MARTIN CHAMBERLAND : PETER REGARDANT LA PEINTURE SÉCHER !


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