What's The Best Way To Work As An Artist?

​In reality is there is no one best way to work. It's what's best for you. 

​But I'm going to tell you about a couple of approaches that I've heard about here on youtube, then tell you what I prefer and you can decide what you think is best for you. 'Sound good? Okay.

​The first approach is from Lena Danya and that's to have several paintings going at once. With this method, when you get a bit tired of working on one piece, you go and work on another for awhile. So if you imagine it like a circle, you're constantly rotating between paintings, but making sure to finish each one.

​The other approach is from Lisa Clough and that's the do one painting at a time approach. This one's a lot easier to explain than the first one. It's basically exactly what it sounds like. You just work on one piece until it's finished, without touching another one.

​Now for me. I lean more toward the do one painting at a time approach. I used to stop working on something, because I was a little bored with it, and start working on something else I was more excited about and as a result, I ended up with a lot of unfinished pieces.

​If I'm really struggling with my current piece, I might make a sketch for my next one on paper, just to keep momentum going. But other than that, I really don't work on more than one piece at a time.

​If you work in oils, you might have to do the work on several paintings at a time approach, because slowly oil dries, just to be able to be working consistently.

​Like I said, it doesn't matter what approach you take. What matters is that you're finishing work. You need to have finished pieces, because if you don’t, you’re not learning. Besides not finishing things, doesn’t make you feel very good about yourself.