How long can you spend on a painting?

A cracking painting, Frank, I'm sure you'll finish it.  Maybe the answer's in your post that started your thread. you said it's time consuming just painting two figures...maybe you should think 'my task today is to do two more figures', and not think about how long it'll take to finish the whole thing.  Small bites. By co-incidence, it's the same size as my largest painting to date...an oil done a couple of years ago.  It seemed to take forever, your painting is more complex having so many figures.  I'm not used to oils and it put me right off them, I haven't done another since. I'm trying to go the other way, and take a little more time.  I've been unhappy with several pictures recently...posted them, and then, before anyone has had time to make a comment...I've deleted them.  In future, I'm going to wait at least a month before posting a pic.  Which is why I haven't posted anything for a couple of weeks. This painting lark isn't easy, and we've all got our own bridges to cross. Your painting is going to be just grand.

Your painting looks terrific, Frank, and the details are superb. I remember I took on a pencil drawing of Bobby Robson, standing in St James' Park, Newcastle, and couldn't believe how frustrated I became by the monotonous slog of completing the crowd. In the end I selected one section of the stands and completed that bit. Eventually it was finished. It's still in my gallery, I think. Never did try another crowd scene. *Smile* Bri

Only just caught up with this thread, but - Go On, boy, finish the damn' thing!  You know you want to....  What else are you going to do with it? I know how easy it is to get tired of a picture, and just think - oh Gawd and bugger it, I'm fed up with this!  That's when you need to leave the swine alone, and start on something else - or DON'T start on something else, just walk away from it, give it up, play chess or solitaire with yourself, have an affair, go dog-walking, climb a mountain = and come back to it months later.  Oil paint won't mind, acrylic couldn't care less - let yourself live and breathe!   And if it still doesn't work, find yourself a cliff, and throw the bugger over it, always remembering to let go of it yourself before you follow it. 

Speaking from experience Frank, once I’ve put an unfinished work on hold for more than a month, generally means that I’ve lost interest in it - and probably the reason it was put on hold initially! Obviously you’ve put considerable time and effort into this challenging and complex study, and is certainly worth completing, which I have no doubt you will. My work is completely different to yours of course, as you will know, my treatment of groups of people is approached quite differently. I tend to work in blocks of colour with little detail, thereby making this challenge a far more simple and quicker one. Credit to you for your perseverance, you have to stick with it now, looking really good so far!

It’s a terrific painting so far a Frank, and so detailed. I agree with Linda and Lewis that you need to set yourself a target of an hour a day or a small number of figures, and before you know it, you’ll be done! You said you started in December. I assume you mean 2019 in which case that doesn’t seem long to me for such a complex scene? If you meant 2018, well, I see the problem! I’ve often started a painting and lose interest if it’s not going well, in which case I may paint over it or just tuck it away. Over the last year or two I’ve taken part in some plein air painting days, and while I love painting out there, I find it difficult to complete at home later, but I guess that’s just because I’d like to be able to finish in situ.  You may think this is a mad idea, but if you’re painting from a photo, how about turning it upside down and painting that way? Good luck. I m sure you’ll get there. X