Have you ever watched a great artist work?  It is often slow, deliberate, even painstaking.  There is great care taken at every stage in the creation of a piece, with the littlest detail tended to until it is gotten right.  Great art takes care, and great care takes time.

Jan van Eyck worked with his brother for over six years to complete their masterwork “The Ghent Altarpiece”; Michelangelo took 4 years to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel; and Leonardo da Vinci worked on the “Mona Lisa” for 16 years, before he was ready to call it finished. 

Great artists appreciate what Michelangelo said, that “Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle.”

Now, to be sure, not every famous work of art took long to create.  But, more often than not, excellence is a matter of hours, days, even years—not minutes.  Mrs. Blecke may not give you a decade and a half to finish your masterpiece; but that is no cause to hurry.  And if you must work quickly, heed the old classical adage, festina lente—make haste slowly.

For as Voltaire reminds us, “Perfection is attained by slow degrees; it requires the hand of time.”

Have a wonderful day.