Abstract

Where is the time in painting? This paper will consider the temporal dislocations associated with the painted image. The primary focus will be upon the temporal complexities associated with the painting process. These will be contextualised through an initial analysis of the temporal effects of paintings as static imagery upon the time perceptions of spectators. The paper draws upon my own painting practice, through which some of the points made are placed into context. Key to this paper is the notion of a time away from measured clock time. This is built from Paul Ricoeur’s (1980) Heideggarian notion of “reckoning” with time. This reckoning is considered in terms of the proximity between the artist and the work during the painting process and the way that different proximities in the process may relate to creativity and critical viewing. Lastly, the paper considers where the time of painting might end and whether there is a clear end point. The text slips through theoretical, process-based, and reflective modes of thought and thus echoes some of the crucial points within the content of the paper.