Quality Takes Time

Quality takes time. Over time I have become a slower artist than I used to be, but I am also a better artist than I used to be. I've worked hard to grow my talents, and as they grow, I see things that I didn't see before. I pick up the things I missed, and with every new work, I learn more and grow more.

This is one reason why I started posting pics online as I work on them. Sometimes 4 hours of work creates very subtle differences, as I focus on one color or highlights. Inevitably my husband will ask me "is it done?", and I will answer "no". He will say "it looks done to me. It's done enough for what you are getting paid." But quality takes time and I don't want to sign my name to it if it's not quality. There have been deadlines I've powered through to get done in time, and it shows, in a bad way. If it's meant to be quick and sketchy like storyboards, that's different. It's meant to be quick and tell a story in small frames and it's an art unto itself. However Leonardo da Vinci took 10 years to finish the last supper. A masterpiece takes time. 

"You can have it fast, cheap, or good ... but you can't have all three at the same time."

I fear that our "I want it now" society of fast food and shows on demand has lost sight of what it takes to make something of quality, because to them, they just get what they ask for and never see the prep work that went into making it happen. Unless it's in their face, they don't think it's happening. They think because they don't see you working, that you aren't working. This seems to especially apply when you are self employed and your work days are very different from the norm. Even though they've never done anything like it themselves and have no concept of the amount of work it entails, if they don't see it happening, then it doesn't exist to them. In similar fashion this same mentality of "I want it and it appears", doesn't seem to grasp working toward goals. They see success and wealth and are jealous. Instead of thinking "how did they do that?", they think that the person is just lucky, because they don't see the sacrifice and tears that came before the success. It is fundamentally short sighted.

All this is to say that anything in life that is quality takes time to make it that way. Relationships don't just happen and are perfect, they require time and work. If that isn't there, you're going to end up with poor quality, even if it started out great. All these talents that you see in other people and admire, they rarely just happen. Often they are a byproduct of a lot of work, trying and failing, lots of frustrated sketches in the trash bin, and full sketch books dating back years. Other talented people take years of training, research, and work to break boards, pirouette, write a novel, put together an event, fix a car, perform in film, or make anything that can be considered quality. 

Too many people today want a short cut, and want it now. They don't want to hear that there is no short cut, only hard work. Look at George RR Martin who has been writing the Song of Ice and Fire series since the 90s. Now that it's become a hit show, people demand the next book NOW, to the point that the actor who plays John Snow spoke out against the harassment the writer is now receiving. Those first books that everyone loves now, have been around for years and were made with all the quality that makes us fans. And suddenly he is being pushed to write faster than he ever has before, while he's added show consultant to his job load, which can only extend the time to make another book. 

"George R.R. Martin is not your bitch!"

Yeah, it's work, but when it's your passion, most artisans and creative people are workaholics concerning that passion. There's really very little else they would rather do, and are rarely happy when prevented from pursuing it. So the extra work is welcome because it's what we love! Perhaps as kids writing fanfic, it doesn't seem like work or practice writing, but it is. Just because it's fun doesn't mean it's not work or practice. With every new work, there's an opportunity to learn and grow and try something new. Every failure is a learning experience and an opportunity to start new or change your approach. It's a chance to make something better and have something better, when so much is expendable in the "want it now" society. And it's that passion for creating that creates the things we love. It applies to life on many levels. That happy couple in their 60s is the byproduct of lots of work over lots of years. People build careers, skills, relationships, and talents one step at a time. No one starts at the top, not even "naturals". 

Ultimately, I think that old adage of "anything worth having is worth waiting for" is wrong. "Anything worth having is worth working for" ... and quality takes time!