With most of my classes in college, I work to get the assignments done fast and efficiently. If I have to read a chapter in a textbook, I speed read the chapter while taking notes quickly. If I have to write a paper, I write as many pages as I can in the shortest amount of time possible-by just writing the whole thing at once.

…Painting does NOT work this way. Painting is not quick, and there is no such thing as an ‘efficient painter.’ Painting takes time-a lot of it. So don’t treat painting like your other classes. While other classes demand you to learn by reading and learning a certain amount of information each week, painting demands you to be patient while you work. It demands you to slow down.

Once you slow down, you will be able to focus more on your color choices, composition, and other elements of your piece. Whipping out a (good) painting in one sitting is highly improbable, since you wouldn’t have had the necessary time to really consider all the important aspects of your painting.

So be patient. You’ll learn a whole lot more by slowing down and creating your painting with a lot of focus and time than you would otherwise.