I get it. I love the clarity of quantifying numbers and formulas too. And when it comes to the creative process we kind of don’t know what to do except evaluate it by what we would consider billable hours.

Once, I tallied the hours—brush in hand, standing at the easel—working on a large piece… about 40 in total. But those hours only reflected the visible part of the process. What goes into a painting involves more than clocking in and out.

Every piece also holds years of perspective, deepening of purpose, and development of technique shaped by trial, error, and quiet persistence. The work continues long after I’ve stepped away from the canvas—thoughts turning over, solutions forming in silence. It’s a conversation between intention and instinct, unfolding over time.

At the moment I seal a finished piece, it’s no longer just a painting. It’s a story—one built from far more than clocked hours. It holds the weight of the journey, the unseen labor, and the discovery of beauty revealed all along the way.