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I can only paint for about an hour before my wrists start to hurt and my hands begin to tingle, and then I tend to need a 10-15 minute break.

So now I'm curious. When you guys decide to sit down and get some painting in, for what duration can you paint for, continuously? Do you have any techniques to tips to extend this timeframe?

I manage to paint for .. 8 hours or more in a stretch? But that is with distractions like answering the phone.. talking to customers.. print runs...

At home? Nahhh.. the kids interrupt too much to get in more than 30 minutes at a time..

Kids are a painting killer, yeah like half an hour at a time, sometimes an hour, After they go to bed I can sit and paint for a couple of hours, but the tv is on so I sorta do both at the same time, really prolongs your staying power!

8 hours in a stretch! Holy cow!
I cant really do more then 40 minutes before my back acts up. I tend to take a break then, have a walk around or make some tea and then do another maybe 40 minute stretch.
I think the longest I ever did was about 2 hours but by the time I stood up I was like a 60 year old.

A couple of hours for me but its usually boredom that gets me - I loathe painting! Although, I do get backache if I really paint for prolonged periods.

If you can only manage an hour before wrists hurt, it maybe a posture problem rather than an endurance one. Presumably you aren't sitting in an awkward position?

I'd say about an hour to an hour and a half for me, though I'm kidless. My biggest problem is numb arse syndrome - kitchen chairs werent designed for moer than 20 minute stints I reckon.

I'd love to speak to one of the 'eavy metal guys and see if they have a special ergonomic chair of some kind, or if I'm just a wuss!

Failing that I'll get one of the GW paint stations so I can paint whilst on the sofa, problem is that the sofas new so I'd be too scared of spillages - anyone else know how sturdy the trays are?

The trays are good, but WAAAY too expensive, I just knocked one up in my shed one avo, works better as I was able to customise it plus it was like 10 bucks?

filbert wrote:If you can only manage an hour before wrists hurt, it maybe a posture problem rather than an endurance one. Presumably you aren't sitting in an awkward position?

I presume it's more of a carpal tunnel situation. I spend an awful lot of time typing.

Ouze wrote:

filbert wrote:If you can only manage an hour before wrists hurt, it maybe a posture problem rather than an endurance one. Presumably you aren't sitting in an awkward position?

I presume it's more of a carpal tunnel situation. I spend an awful lot of time typing.

Yeah, I guess. Either way, it may be worth getting it checked out - you really don't want to risk RSI or something like that through mini painting

filbert wrote:

Ouze wrote:

filbert wrote:If you can only manage an hour before wrists hurt, it maybe a posture problem rather than an endurance one. Presumably you aren't sitting in an awkward position?

I presume it's more of a carpal tunnel situation. I spend an awful lot of time typing.

Yeah, I guess. Either way, it may be worth getting it checked out - you really don't want to risk RSI or something like that through mini painting

Your doctor would be in hysterics when you explained it as brushing over a really small toy in your hand

Ratius wrote:8 hours in a stretch! Holy cow!

well.. I work for 11 hours straight, and am pretty much alone for that time.. and management cares not what I fill my time with unless it negatively impacts the work site.. so, I would estimate 8 hours painting over a shift.

Long enough to do about 15 infantry, or 10 infantry and a tank.. or 3 tanks..

My record for painting was about 12 hours in a stretch. The running time of the extended Lord of the rings trilogy which I had on in the background. Then again, it was through desperation, I had a squad of 20 Ork boys to assemble and paint for a game the next day.

Regular breaks, and not just putting the mini down. Stretch and go and do something else for 5 minutes or so. Just a walk to the kitchen to put the kettle on lets you stretch your muscles and clear your mind for a bit. A brightly lit workspace and a chair that I can't slouch in are my essentials for a long painting session.

Definitely get your wrists looked at, a friend of mine has to have surgery due to RSI, he's not been able to paint a mini for 2 months, and won't be able to for at least another 2. I've never seen anyone so glum in my life. Don't let yourself get into that position.

I am fairly new to painting. I tend to paint on my days off. Sometimes I paint the entire day away with some casual food and washroom breaks. It is like I go into a trance and time just disappears. That doesn't mean I am a good painter. I am still learning and just started playing with paint mediums.

Couple of hours. I don't want it to become a chore.

Warm air and fingerless gloves work great if your hands, wrists, fingers get achey. Clenching and stretching every so often. It is like carpal tunnel syndrome I get it when I'm pregnant! You guys have far less to worry about! I usually only get a couple hours at most to paint in evenings. Sometimes I can sneak in a 20 or 30 mins durning the day when tv is being watched.

Maybe 30 minutes, then I get bored and have to browse the internet for half an hour before I get back to painting. I can alternate all day long it I have time though, so I guess I can get in 4-5 hours of actual painting on a Saturday or Sunday.

I can paint for a couple of hours between breaks. I can paint for 12-14 hours a day when really trying to get things finished, but that includes periodic stretch&eat breaks.

Generally, I'll paint for the length of a Football or Baseball game at a time. So, 2.5 to 3 hours.

Some rainy saturdays in the winter and late fall, I'll paint for the length of 2 football games, so 6 hours.

I'll take breaks in there. I'm also doing laundry or something, so I'm getting up every 45 mintues or so to get the next load going.

During the winter (my off season) I paint for about 10 Hours a day, with breaks every two hours.

During the rest of the year I get about an hour or two a night.

Presuming I have the time, paints, models and DESIRE....

I could easily paint for 10 hours or more at a stretch.

Although I do it infrequently, due to time constraints, I enjoy painting. It's almost like medication for me. LOL It's great for de-stressing.

I've got a setup in my basement that, between the nice desk chair and appropriate height work bench (built with painting in mind) is a great combination for comfortable painting.

Granted, this 10+ hours straight would be punctuated by occasional visits to the bathroom, to grab a quick bite or a drink, etc... but that should be presumed, since it's difficult to go 10+ hours without peeing. LOL I can't see getting up more than 5 times in that 10 hour period, though.

Eric

Like allot, I can spend a whole day happily drifting from painting to the PC/Dakka/TV, but kids make this an unlikely possibility.

I have when desperate found it possible to paint in the car (parked!) when waiting for appointments/meetings to start. The longest I did that for was about and hour and a half when a client was late. Passes the time allot better than a newspaper but the possiblity of paint spills makes it a harrowing time!


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Actually now I put my mind to it I sat in the garden with the airbrush out for a few 3 hour stints over the long weekend just gone. The warm weather makes it both pleasant and productive as the paint was drying quickly in the sun.

I would say about 1-3 hours depending on what I'm painting. Basic colors can easily last 2 hours but smaller things like washes and small details I just can't assembly line them into hour blocks.

Not a massive amount of time, i do get a bit bored after 2 or 3 hours.

Ive been sat here for about 1 and a half hours painting my 2 leman russes today now having some food then do another hour and a bit before my game tonight!

I can paint as long as I have podcasts to listen to. I once painted an entire 1,000 point Mk. I Cygnar army in 2 days, and to a fairly high standard, too.

...Of course that was back in the day before my all "hot" talk (Howard Stern, Don & Mike, Ron & Fez, etc.- you can tell that was back in the day) station flipped over to sports talk. I can't stand sports talk.

Now I'm limited to 1-4 hours a day on my days off.

Record: around 24 hours with some roommates in College during a Blizzard.

These days: I paint at my local GW store 2+ days a week. I arrive @ 11am - noonish and stay until 8-9pm (closing.) There's conversation going on and an occasional jaunt down to the food court or dollar store for food/drinks. So I'd say it averages out to 7 hours on any particular day.

I'm a bit of a spazzer, so I don't keep track of how much time I've spent doing what, but I can easily spend 8 hours on the hobby in general.

That includes trips to the bathroom, smoke breaks(I smoke outside as my son is asthmatic), and whatever else needs to be done.

The key is a comfortable place to work, like my old worn out couch.

Because of time constraints I usually don't get to paint often, maybe a couple of times in a month, so when I do decide to do it I usually sit for marathon sessions of at least 3-4 hours if not more. As long as I have relative peace and quiet, some music or usually a series of good podcasts on I can definitely do it for a nice long stretch. Just last weekend on a Sunday I was painting on and off from 6pm till aobut 2am. I knocked out a tactical squad, 2 assaults marines and a death company dread. Because painting is my relaxation activity I prefer it this way.

Now mind you I'm not sitting down painting the whole stretch non-stop. I'll stop to stretch, have a snack, build some additional models.

Because painting is so involved for me, getting out supplies, organizing the paints, setting up the assembly line of models basecoated, washed, second coat, etc. I could not imagine having to only paint for 30 minutes or an hour at a time. I couldn't get anything done.

The first weekend I painted, back in Dec 2010, I was painting my first Ork boyz. I logged 12 hours the first day, 15 the second.

Last weekend, I scratch built some wartrakks, and then painted them. A whopping 20 hours in the chair.

However, I counter balance that with power lifting, and epic 20 mile MTB rides on the other days.

It's all about balance.

I've painted for 40-50 hours a week at a few points during my High School summer vacations.

7-8 Hours a day is fine if you have the right music/coffee. I listen to a trance radio station, "AH.FM" for hours at a time and stream it.

Techno is awesome for painting.
I really get in a "zone".
I'm sure others will bash it though.
"NOBODY LISTENS TO TECHNO NOMO!"