Writing an Artist Statement

I'm working on doing an Artist Statement for my updated website that I'm working on and will be launching in the next couple of weeks.

I found this entry on Jerry Lebo's blog and thought it might be useful. If you have other resources you know of or would like to share please do so here.

"Lesson One: Be Brief
An artist statement does not have to be long. In fact, the shorter the better. Three paragraphs of 3-4 lines is plenty. If needed, you can start with a long version of your artist statement and edit it down later--but the final version should be able to be read in around one minute (or less).

Lesson Two: Be Honest
The last thing people want to read is art speak, a lot of blah, blah, or things that you think they want to hear. If you artist statement is going to work--it must be honest about where you are at, why you do what you do, and what your art is about. Keep it simple and straight-forward. In structuring what you are saying, move from the general to the more specific. For example, start with a general statement of why you paint, and then tell the reader more about how you do it later. If you want to be specific about what you are working on at the moment, it is probably best to leave that to last.

Lesson Three: Take your time
Working on your artist statement is going to be harder than actually making art. Be prepared to spend some time. I found it useful to jot down a lot of short notes about what I wanted to say throughout the day--and then try to organize them later. Post-it notes are great. Write a line down on them and post them around your studio--you can collect them at then end of the day and summarize them later. Another idea is to imagine you are being interviewed and being asked some basic questions about your work. For example, what is your favorite material or medium, what do you like best about what you do, how work, when--what have you learned lately? Write down your answers and see if you can bring them together into a statement of some sort later.

Lesson Four: Make it Personal
Never speak in the third-person. It turns people off. Use the personal tense in your writing--for example, say, "My", or "I". Do not say "the artist" or speak about yourself in the third person. This is your statement, and people what to hear something personal. In fact, I think the most important trait of an artist statement is that it is honest and comes from your heart.

Lesson Five: Get help, if you need it
I found a lot of useful information on the Internet about how to go about writing an artist statement, and even some examples. There is no set way to write a artist statement, so don't feel you have to follow an example--but I found the ideas contain in some of the examples useful as a guide.

Anyway, here is my artist statement as of today:

Artist Statement, Jerry Lebo

The process of transforming paint and other materials into images continues to compel and challenge me. Over the years, that process has led me from drawing, etching, and painting, and most recently to pursue experimental processes on paper. Painting fills me with a sense of well-being and humility, and has proven to be a satisfying way for me to translate my visual ideas into a physical reality.I paint both what I see and what I feel—focusing on the sensation and context of my experience. I work deliberately, employing both traditional and innovative techniques, while letting the uncertain nature of painting free my hand. My paintings are finished when they are able to convey a moment or sensation of where I am, as well as what I am seeing."

Art Around Adams

Well this last Saturday was eventful. I met some great artists and got to spend the day outside. A real treat for me. I had my pen & ink work in two locations, Paper Antiquities at Hamilton and Adams and then San Diego Coffee Tea and Spice at Marlborough and Adams.

My work at Paper Antiquities was on the sidewalk so I spent the vast majority of my day there. The event stretched from Hamilton on the west to passed Marlborough on the east. It would seem that we need to have more vendors participating at the far ends, and hopefully that will happen next year.

I felt really at home with the people that I was working with and enjoyed every minute of it.

I hope I get to do it again next year!