Focusing on the journey instead of the destination

Here's my first hour and a half on a new 12 x 16" home portrait, based on the little color sketch in the top lefthand corner. I usually like to paint for 3-5 hours at a time, because things really get rolling. But I'm learning that I can make progress in 1-2 hours and that it's good for me to paint every single day, even if it's just a little.

I'll admit, painting for an hour and a half, like I did today, frustrates me at times because I have to stop just when it feels like I'm getting into the zone. But if I can focus on the journey rather than trying to rush headlong towards the final destination, it helps (in my life as well as in my work:)

I did the little 7 x 9" acrylic sketch for my client to give to her husband for his milestone birthday in November. She knew he'd want to be involved in the creation of the finished work, so we used the little painting to talk about what he liked and what changes he'd prefer. Originally, I used a warm orange background and then painted over it in layers of acrylics. What I like about this technique is that I can paint light over darker values and colors in small increments or glazes, like with oil painting. But I can also leverage what I call "clear color" -- the original vibrant acrylic paint in a single hue -- like my favorite watercolorists do.

Today I really did enjoy the journey, even though it was for such a short time, analyzing where the clear color should remain, as opposed to layering paint to create values and mute colors. I think it will be interesting to take and display photos of this one as it progresses a little at a time, so I'll post those pictures as this painting progresses.