hi Hariod, it varies enormously, but when I have a project on the go ( I usually work on 2 or 3 canvases or panels at the same time, moving between them during each session ), I tend to work every day in several shortish bursts of between 1 and 2 hours each, depending on what’s going on and how wet the work is. Working wet in wet can get very muddy very quickly, so I might only work for 10 minutes, put a fan on to speed up drying, and come back later. I probably, therefore, work between half an hour, and 4 hours in any one day. However, there are weeks, and even months when I don’t go into the studio at all, particularly mid winter when the studio is too cold and damp, even with the stove going.
I also work in the house sometimes, especially in the winter, usually on paper on the kitchen table. Again, I might do 2 or 3 sessions in a day, between half an hour and 2 hours for each session. Thanks and best wishes, Liz
Thank you for the insight. I’m interested in this sort of thing. A music composer called Mark-Anthony Turnage once told me he rose at 4 a.m. and worked for 3-4 hours in the studio at the bottom of his garden before taking the kids to school. This rather shocked me and I suddenly felt guiltily lazy (I am). Your approach seems rather more measured than Mark-Anthony’s, and I quite understand the constraints of the cold and damp – not my cup of char at all! With gratitude and respect as ever, Hariod.
donegallizdoyle 
So prolific – can I ask how many hours you (typically), spend in the studio each day?
hi Hariod, it varies enormously, but when I have a project on the go ( I usually work on 2 or 3 canvases or panels at the same time, moving between them during each session ), I tend to work every day in several shortish bursts of between 1 and 2 hours each, depending on what’s going on and how wet the work is. Working wet in wet can get very muddy very quickly, so I might only work for 10 minutes, put a fan on to speed up drying, and come back later. I probably, therefore, work between half an hour, and 4 hours in any one day. However, there are weeks, and even months when I don’t go into the studio at all, particularly mid winter when the studio is too cold and damp, even with the stove going.
I also work in the house sometimes, especially in the winter, usually on paper on the kitchen table. Again, I might do 2 or 3 sessions in a day, between half an hour and 2 hours for each session. Thanks and best wishes, Liz
Thank you for the insight. I’m interested in this sort of thing. A music composer called Mark-Anthony Turnage once told me he rose at 4 a.m. and worked for 3-4 hours in the studio at the bottom of his garden before taking the kids to school. This rather shocked me and I suddenly felt guiltily lazy (I am). Your approach seems rather more measured than Mark-Anthony’s, and I quite understand the constraints of the cold and damp – not my cup of char at all! With gratitude and respect as ever, Hariod.
🙂