I always write, no matter what, but have had a hard time getting around to music and art. Writing is easier because it can be done almost anytime or anywhere. It doesn't make any noise; it doesn't offend anybody; it only requires something to write with, something to write on, and something you want to say. Nobody knows what you're writing about. It could be anything from a grocery list to a lurid novel.
But music does make noise, which gives one pause if there are others nearby to hear, especially if they happen to be musicians. The sounds you make while learning something can range from beautiful to auditory hell.
Other arts, such as painting, have the disadvantage of requiring all sorts of tools, supplies, and preparations which take lots of room and time. There are many unspontaneous things that have to be done before the spontaneity of creation begins.
For some time now, I have stuck to the ease and privacy of expressing myself in writing, but the urge to paint again is nipping at my heels. There are paintings I want to do that I can see in my mind's eye. They just won't let me alone. So I've been getting my studio ready to paint in.
One of the things that helped me get started was a wonderful blog I ran across: The Sixty Minute Artist. It is by Jerry Lebo, an excellent artist who has a full-time job doing something other than art, which helps in feeding his family, but makes it hard for him to find time to get into his studio to paint. So he challenged himself to spend at least 60 minutes a day painting, and started his blog as a means of letting others in on what he was doing, in the hope they might find it helpful. Judging by my own reaction, and by the comments I see on his blogs, they are very helpful indeed.
Each of his informative blogs covers a different subject, such as stretching a canvas, making low-cost frames, color strategy, etc. He illustrates with his own delightful paintings, or with photos for "how-to" blogs. Check him out at http://sixtyminuteartist.blogspot.com/.
I wait with anticipation for them to show up in my e-mail, and am disappointed when I don't see anything there. Thank you, Jerry Lebo, for a great blog and a big push forward for all of us who have thought we were too busy to paint.
