What Can You Paint in 10 Minutes?
By Karen Margulis
Most of us wish we had more time to paint. Life gets busy, and before we know it another week has gone by without picking up a pastel. Then when we finally do find an hour or two, we spend half of it wondering what to paint. Sound familiar?
Here’s an idea that has helped me more than almost anything else in my own painting practice.
Set a timer for ten minutes. That’s it. Ten minutes!
Ten minutes isn’t enough time to create a masterpiece, and that’s exactly the point. A ten-minute painting isn’t about making something to frame. It’s about giving your eyes and hands a chance to work together. Every little study helps your understanding of color, values, edges, and mark making become a little more intuitive.
One of my favorite quotes comes from artist Charles Hawthorne:
“If you look into the past of a successful painter you will find square miles of canvas.”
I love that idea because it reminds us that great painters weren’t born with an effortless ability to paint. They earned it one painting at a time.
That’s why I’m such a believer in daily painting—not because every painting will be good, but because every painting teaches us something. The more often we paint, the more familiar the process becomes. We begin to recognize value patterns more quickly, choose colors with greater confidence, and make better decisions almost instinctively. Those painting principles slowly move from something we have to think about into something we simply do.
The wonderful thing is that a daily painting doesn’t have to be a two-hour commitment. A tenminute study absolutely counts. In fact, those little studies may be the quickest way to build your own “square miles of canvas.” Ten minutes today, ten minutes tomorrow, and before long you’ve given yourself hundreds of opportunities to observe, experiment, and grow.
You might be surprised by what you can paint in just ten minutes.
Try painting a single cloud instead of the whole sky. Paint one flower instead of the entire bouquet. Focus on a cluster of rocks, one tree, a breaking wave, reflections on the water, or just the shadows in a landscape. You could even paint a small part of a favorite reference photo. The goal isn’t to finish everything. The goal is to notice and respond.
Working this way also takes away some of the pressure. Instead of calling it a painting, call it a study. Studies give us permission to experiment, simplify, and even fail. Ironically, many of my favorite paintings have started as quick little studies with no expectations attached.
A few tips make ten-minute studies even easier:
- Work small. A 5×7 or 6×8 surface is plenty.
- Have your paper and reference ready before you start the timer.
- Focus on one idea—interesting color, values, edges, or composition.
- Stop when the timer goes off. Resist the urge to keep “fixing” it.
When I first began painting small 10 minute paintings I made a commitment to paint something small every day. These early studies weren’t very good. But over time they became better because I became more efficient. I learned to see the important shapes more quickly and to make decisions with more confidence. That confidence carried over into my larger paintings.
Those little ten-minute studies added up to something much bigger than I realized at the time.
So the next time you think, I don’t have enough time to paint, remember that ten minutes is enough. Enough to practice. Enough to learn. Enough to keep your creative muscles active.
So don’t wait until you have a free afternoon. Pick up a small piece of paper, set a timer for ten minutes, and paint one little study. Then do it again tomorrow. Those ten minutes may not seem like much, but over weeks and months they become your own square miles of canvas—and that’s where real growth happens.
