In an effort to garner a further understanding of composition, I realized the most effective way to do this was to make a lot of paintings. Making time-consuming pieces puts one in a position where the creation steps of the painting, rarely come into play. A typical painting from my Time and Pressure series would take three or four months to create. I felt that my growth as a painter would be helped dramatically if I was establishing a new composition more often. Painting at night on small panels let me create and finish about 3 paintings per week and assisted me in understanding best practices in the creation and layout of an effective and engaging piece.