Blogging as Structure

"Near Zuni", Oil on Canvas, 12x17 inches

Jerry Lebo, 2006

Much to my surprise, this morning I discovered that my blog has been cited under "blogs of note" by eblogger. The result was that my usual 20-30 readers (on a good day) jumped to over 2000 overnight! Thank you for all that have stopped by to take a look. I have recieved a lot of feedback and I appreciate the time people have taken to send their thoughts. I don't blog to get attention, but it is nice to know that people have found my blog useful and inspiring.

So why do I blog? If you want, you can go back and read my first posting and find out. Otherwise, let me go back to reconsider one of the issues I raised in my very first posting--the need for a regular painting practice. I was talking with my friend Mitchell Johnson earlier today and we were talking about my blog, and why I started it in the first place--and an issue that I have been wanting to cover for some time came up, "structure". Painting is a strange thing, you do it alone (mostly) and then stand back and look at what you've done for a while... and then start all over again. It never ends--I suppose until you drop dead.

When I was painting full-time back in the mid-1990s, I remember having a hard time getting myself into the studio many days. There I was, trying to be a full-time artist and not even being able to paint. When I did get into the studio, I often would paint for a few hours and then go off and do something else. So, in effect, being a full-time artist ended up taking about 4-5 hours a day (assuming I painted twice a day). Now I have a full time job, and spend up to 12 hours a day at the office. It doesn't make sense, how can I spend so much time at my desk at a job I don't really want to be doing, but have a hard time spending more than 4-5 hours in the studio?

This dilemma is at the heart of why I started a blog and why I call myself "sixtyminuteartist". One of the key aspects of painting that I think undermines many artist is the complete lack of structure around the process. I mean, it is a wide open field. Blank canvas, plus hundreds of tubes of paint (potentially) and millions of possible combinations...it is a mixture for disaster from the start. And, it is this lack of structure that I think causes many artist to fail.

If you are an artist, the nice thing about starting a blog is that it gives you something on which to structure your practice, particulary your thinking. Most of what I write in my blog are things that I think about during the day or in the studio about art. Ideas that I want to explore or things I have discovered over the years. Remembering these things and writing them down gives me a small bit of structure when I go into the studio. Somewhere to start--something to start with.

In addition to a starting point, my blog forces me to consider my thoughts, my art, and my thinking together as a practice. To see it a bit more objectively as an output. And, it keeps me honest. Whatever paintings I post on my blog, or words that I write, seeing them up on the web for all to see makes me think twice about what I write--and helps me to see my work a bit more objectively--as a reader and viewer.

So, again, thank you to all who have visited and commented on my blog. If you are an artist, I hope you will be inspired to get back in the studio and spend at least 60 minutes a day. Start a blog to mark your progress and keep you thinking about art. Don't do it because you think it will bring you attention or sell paintings--do it for your own practice. The world needs artists--and if you are an artist, you need art.

All the best, sixtyminuteartist