How Long Does It Take to Finish A Painting?

It depends whether I am using Acrylic or Oil paints. Acrylic dries quite quickly where as oil paints take a lot longer to dry. I tend to do oils in stages so that I can allow sections to dry (not completely) but just enough to be able to add texture and depth. The oil painting needs to be completely dried before I can apply the varnish which can take weeks and even months. Acrylics can be finished within a month or two depending on the time spent and details.