One way of painting is "bit by bit", another way is to paint everything at once. The second way is how I normally do it. That is why the first layers become that ugly; I want to cover the whole canvas in paint in one sitting before it dries. I am quite impatient too, and even though I might not gain any time by using this technique, I quickly get an idea of how the final result will look like. Also, when I have one color on the brush and use it in one area of the painting, I can directly add it to another part of the painting where I didn't think it was needed from the beginning. I get an overall perspective and in this way I can create harmony in the painting. Hard to explain, does it make any sense at all to you?
Old painting, first layer - an alley in Granada