In my review of Marianne North: A Very Intrepid Painter by Michelle Payne, I ramble though calculations as I think aloud as to how Marianne North could have completed 832 paintings in 14 years. What have you discovered about how she worked that would make such an impressive accomplishment possible?
It is impressive! Calculated out it’s something like one painting every six days for fourteen years! And when we consider that the majority of this work was done on-the-spot in distant locales, the achievement becomes even more impressive. There are a few factors that made North’s project as prodigious as it was: first, and a great lesson to all, was the possession of an extraordinary work ethic. North woke early and worked through all kinds of weather, sometimes for up to twelve hours a day. She also famously preferred plants to people, and was often able to carve extra time to work by excusing herself from the many social obligations central to colonial and ex-pat community life in the places she visited. In Sarawak, for example…
ArtPlantae Today 