A question an artist is often asked is how long a painting took to complete. I find that in creating a painting it often becomes a two way communication where the painting might have as much to tell me as I think I want to express through it. It becomes a puzzle, a challenge, because of course the communication is not verbal. The communication might come in dreams, a walk by the lake, or chewing my brush while in front of the work in question. The answer could be as simple as a composition issue resolved to an insight that astounds me as it touches into the core of my being. This is why painting is not about the product but about the process. I believe Einstein said “Art evokes the mystery”.
We understand and unravel that mystery in our own time, perhaps over a good cup of tea.