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A painting does not have to become a masterpiece to count as a win. Mixing a color you have been curious about, finishing a small study, or simply setting up your paints and trying a new brush can offer a clear sense of progress without turning your whole practice into another demanding project.
That is the practical idea in Donald Papp’s 2021 Hackaday essay, “We All Need A Win Sometimes, So Make Them Yourself”: choose an activity that matters to you, give it a manageable scope, and allow the result to be what it is. Applied to painting, that means making room for small, satisfying experiments—not demanding that every session produce a finished, impressive work.
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What counts as a win in painting?
Papp defines a win as “any meaningful sense of fulfillment that comes from putting effort into something.” In painting, that can mean completing a small painting, but it can also mean discovering how a pigment behaves, practicing a tricky edge, or getting started after a long break.
The key is that the activity feels worthwhile to you. A study that teaches you something may be more satisfying than a larger painting that remains unfinished. The point is not to lower your standards for work that matters to you; it is to make space for effort with a finish line you can actually reach.
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How to make a painting session feel finishable
Choose something you genuinely want to explore
Start with a real interest rather than an assignment to become more productive. You might want to see what happens when you paint the same subject in a limited palette, try a different brush, or work from a photograph you have been saving. It can be connected to a larger painting goal, but it does not need to advance a commission or portfolio.
If painting has begun to feel like another obligation, Papp’s advice is to choose an activity that is personally interesting, whether or not it relates to work. For a painter, that might even mean a creative activity outside the studio; his own examples include cooking and baking.
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Give the activity a boundary
Set aside a defined block of time or choose a small physical scope, such as one sheet of paper, a few color swatches, or a thumbnail study. Papp recommends making an easy-win activity “simple, clear, and short-term.” A boundary helps distinguish a satisfying experiment from an open-ended project that quietly expands.
You can decide that the session ends when the timer rings, when you have made three color tests, or when you have painted one small study. The boundary is a way to make completion possible, not a test you have to pass.
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Let exploration be the goal
Not every session needs a polished outcome. You could lay out a new tool and try it on scrap paper or canvas, or make a few marks to find out how a material responds. Papp’s examples of plugging in a new part to browse its sample projects and trying a tool on scrap illustrate the broader principle: curiosity can be a complete activity in itself.
Likewise, an ambitious aim such as learning an entire piece of software in one afternoon can be reduced to a first step. Papp’s example is installing FreeCAD and bookmarking a useful tutorial. A painter could use the same approach with a new technique: prepare the surface, test one brushstroke, or save a reference for a later session rather than expecting mastery at once.
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Accept the time and the result
Before you begin, decide that the time spent will count even if the painting is awkward, incomplete, or unlike what you imagined. Papp treats that acceptance as part of closure. It keeps an experiment from becoming an endless demand to fix, extend, or justify itself.
In his words, the purpose is “to create a permissive environment in which your brain is allowed to light up happily, with no strings attached.” That is an invitation, not a guarantee that every session will feel good. A small painting can be worthwhile without producing a particular mood or a result you want to show anyone.
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Small painting wins to try
- Paint one object using only two or three colors, then stop when the study is complete.
- Make a row of color mixes to explore how two pigments interact.
- Try a new brush, palette knife, or surface on scrap material before using it in a larger work.
- Make a quick thumbnail of a composition you have been considering, without committing to a full painting.
- Set up your materials and paint for a short, defined session; count showing up and experimenting as the activity.
These are examples to adapt, not a prescribed routine. Choose the one that connects with your interests and gives you a clear stopping point.
Advice, not a promise of better mental health
Papp’s essay offers personal advice about finding fulfillment in effort. It does not present clinical evidence, outcome statistics, or a promise that small projects prevent burnout or make someone happy. Treat the idea as an option for making a little room for satisfying work, not as a remedy or a new standard you must meet.
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If a painting session does not feel rewarding, that does not mean you failed at making a win. The useful measure is whether the activity was personally meaningful and bounded—not whether it produced a masterpiece or a specific emotional response.
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