As time goes on, I find myself painting more and more slowly and also in shorter bursts. In the beginning I used to be able to finish a painting in a continuous two hour session (or thereabouts), but now taking a week to do a painting is not unusual for me. I am wondering what has changed and if it has changed for the better? Perhaps I am thinking too much, fretting too much and taking too much time on each part of my paintings. Should I just adopt a more gung ho attitude and press on, throwing caution to the wind? I know a couple of people on POL who have said that they paint very quickly and they seem to be able to produce pretty impressive work which is loose and dynamic. By the same token, there are people to also produce very good work who paint much more slowly. What is the best way? I am finding that the more time I take, the more I risk producing a tight painting which lacks vitality, which is absolutely not what I am aiming for. On the other hand, if I just go for it and slap the paint on, I am never happy with the results. What a dilemma! The last three paintings I have done have taken at least a week each to complete, but I wish I could have done them quicker and given them a much more immediate and relaxed look. So which is better - taking your time and considering all your decisions carefully or just flying by the seat of your pants? Can you paint slowly and still produce a painting that is immediate, vibrant and full of vitality or does that only happen when you dash them off at the speed of light? I wish someone would enlighten me.