Fast is Fine

 

Faithful readers know that quotations are sprinkled liberally throughout this blog. Some are worth revisiting, and this is one:

"Fast is fine,

but accuracy is final.

You must learn

to be slow in a hurry."

The words are attributed to none other than the famous gunslinger of the Wild West, Wyatt Earp. You can imagine what he meant when he said that accuracy was "final". 

This quote seems especially instructive in the context of plein air painting. When painting outdoors, many things (light, clouds, temperature) are constantly changing, and the painter has to work fast. But being fast is not enough--the painter must also get the right colors, in the right shapes, in the right places on the canvas. It's always a eureka moment when you put down just the right stroke of paint--it works!--and you can lay it and leave it. That's what I'd call accuracy in painting.

"Quiet Hamlet"
12 x 8, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell
(SOLD)

But how do we achieve that accuracy? By being "slow in a hurry". It's a great example of a paradox--it appears to make no sense, but it actually holds a powerful truth. While working very  quickly, the painter must still take time to look deeply, to analyze what he sees, to compare each color to the next.  In other words, he must slow down enough to make careful decisions, but still work at a hurried pace. Doing things quickly isn't very helpful if you're not doing the right things!

"Atmospheric Hills"
7 x 14, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2019
(Available)

And how do you go "slow in a hurry"? I suspect it has  to do with sustained practice--repeating certain challenges so often that the approaches to them become second nature. Such practice allows us to develop painting skills that become almost instinctual. They become part of our artistic DNA. They can be summoned in an instant.  When we slow down to make the decision about the next brushstroke, the decision can be taken relatively quickly. And the entire series of decisions can be made in a hurry. And so we "go slow in a hurry".  A useful goal to keep in mind.

"Paris Pont"
10 x7, Oil on Carton
(c) Lesley Powell 2019
(SOLD)

I'm illustrating this post with a few favorite plein air paintings from my archives.  These are the miraculous ones  that came together completely in the field, and required no adjustments back in the studio. Final!