A Rockford artist set a goal for himself exactly a month ago. He conquered it this morning, Monday, Aug. 3.
“I want to paint art for 72 hours straight. No sleep. Live.” is what Jesse Leach Jr. wrote on his July 3 Facebook post. Some people who left comments were against the idea while others showed their full support.
Theresa McDermott was all in. She’s the owner of SoulJah Wellness Indoor Cycling Studio and a registered nurse. She said things got blurry in the last few hours.
“He’s sitting in the chair painting,” she said “and he's starting to like to nod off. And the paintbrushes in his hand, almost like slapping the canvas.”
McDermott could even see the struggle in his James Brown painting. She helped Leach wash his face.
She said the support from the community push him. This included close friends and other creatives. Artists like Nathan Taylor, musician Harlan Jefferson and Shiraz Tata from Inscape Collective showed their support.
“And even like people from you know on the TikTok from like other states was just unbelievable,” McDermott explained. “It was, the love was just like overpouring. Like so many people stopped into the studio, and whether it was for a picture, to hug him, to cheer him on, they brought water, like alkaline water and electrolytes and fruit and vegetables.”
McDermott said Leach’s perseverance is an inspiration to others.
“One gentleman stopped in," McDermott explained, "and said, you know, he said, ‘brother Leach, I wanted to sleep in this morning,’ and he said, ‘I had to come down and tell you that I thought about you painting three days live, and I got up out of bed and was productive today.’”
McDermott only slept for two hours during this time. As a registered nurse, she said she wanted to make sure the Leach stayed hydrated and healthy.
Leach planned to do three paintings but completed about a dozen. Some can be seen here.
The 72-hour marathon started at 8 a.m. Friday, July 31, and ended at 8 a.m. Monday, Aug. 3.
