One of the best days ever

 

 Clarity(work in progress)

Acrylic on canvas

Skype painting

24 x 24 inches

Barbara Muir © 2010

(This is the third painting in a Skype series

about the emotion that comes through on a video

call, even with poor reception.  This is the underpainting,

but the overpainting levels will reveal almost total

clarity, or the miracle of modern technology and

communication.)

Okay.  I actually have two ideas tonight.  Okay, at
least two, but I'll try to confine myself to two.  I
discovered this week that research shows that cold
weather actually makes us happier, our brains
happier than hot weather.  A surprise to me, because
it's very cold here -- but you know I have to admit,
though I'm not a fan of snow in particular, I have
been fairly happy lately.

But how about today.  Why was today so good?  Looking
back it doesn't make any sense whatsoever.  I woke up
with a headache on the back of the left side of my head.
Two aspirins did nothing for it (right away).  But I
doggedly set forth on making a plan.  Sidestepping that
plan only briefly to drink the wonderful Starbucks coffee
(two cups), I made, and read my fabulous novel The Hundred-Foot
Journey by Richard C. Morais. And I did talk to my brother
in Ottawa, and he is almost always funny.

At the printers Chris and Ellen laughed, and asked me why
I was tired, and I pantomimed myself teaching -- which can
be an energetic exercise.  Chris told me that teachers in China
(he's Chinese Canadian) are learning how to be funny so they
can keep their jobs.  This really cracked us all up for no
apparent reason.  But I left feeling so lucky to know Chris and
Ellen, who help me with all my photo reference, and make my
cards and books.  They are fantastic.

Then I went home to paint.  First I stopped by the supermarket,
bought salmon (a mood enhancer) and more of the organic grape
tomatoes I'm addicted to and saw Paula, the cashier who is always
funny and always smiles.  Then I went home to paint.

And here's the second  reason.  I started listening to Sir Ken Robinson
on TED TV who believes we need an education revolution, and I
thought that some of what I do as a teacher, and how I think as a
teacher fits in with what he believes.  I may even have learned
what I know from an earlier TED talk he did.  So while he talked
about the importance of creativity, and how the current world
education system crushes it, and why there is so much apathy in
Canadian schools, etc. (I watched (listened to) several of his videos
after the TED videos, I painted.  And I am very happy with the odd
underpainting I've done.  Now it's bed time without question.  A
frighteningly early day tomorrow.

Have a enjoying-a-creativity-revolution day
We're part of the creativity revolution -- in fact
leaders in it -- right here.  Yay for bloggers.