Thursday, April 26, 2012

Fighting Lizard brain

 
 Untitled (work in progress)
Acrylic on canvas
30 x 30 inches
Barbara Muir © 2012
Seth Godin calls the primitive part of our brains
"the lizard brain."  I've been listening to him all
day while I paint, and I absolutely know what he
means.  I am quite sure the young woman who
modeled for this painting would disagree, because
she knows some actual lizards personally and
likes them.  But according to Seth my constant
 urge to eat, sleep and read is because of my primitive
 brain's desire to stick to basics. Creativity is a step
 away from the basics. 

If you've never watched any Seth Godin on YouTube
or Vimeo I suggest you check him out.  He's a great
speaker and thinker.  For now I'm going to give in to my
inner Iguana and go to sleep.  As promised another
image of a stage in a painting.  I hope you are well,
resisting the primitive brain and making art like
crazy. 

Have a loving-your-fantastic-brain day.

10 comments:

Flora said...

Barbara, this is such a wonderful portrait! The joy in the womans' face, the angle, the red building behind….oh it is positively iconic!
You amaze me!

Melinda said...

Great work, again, Barbara! I really like the composition and the background a lot. Beautiful colour!!

Oh, yes, we do still have those lizard brains with us always. It is amazing how much of our civilized world is affected by 'lizards,' especially the political ones, right?

Here, lizards rest on sun warmed rocks waiting for little noseeums to venture by...(just being silly now)

Warm hugs!

Anonymous said...

Hi Barbara,
Really nice work.

Love,
Josephine

Marilyn Flanegan said...

I believe if I were in Paris I'd have the same euphoric expression on my face. Your painting is lovely, Barbara.
I've been reading Seth Godin's Linchpin for the last year or so. (each time I read it I take away something new from it - he's amazing!)
One of my favorite passages:
"You become a winner because you're good at losing. The hard part about losing is that you might permit it to give strength to the resistance [lizard brain],that you might believe that you don't deserve to win, that you might in some dark corner of your soul, give up.
Don't." - Seth Godin
: )

Marilyn Flanegan said...

I probably should explain - I was commenting on your previous painting.
I see a series here...and I'm liking it! More please.
: )

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Flora,

I was so tired when I read your comment and working so hard. It lifted me out of the incredible worry you can develop when you're painting hard. Thanks so much.

Love,

Barbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Melinda,


I especially like the silly part. Oh to be a lizard resting on a warm rock,
especially as our furnace isn't working and it's cold and wet here today. Glad you like the painting. Hearing from you has made me smile. It can be serious work making paintings. I feel sorry for my animals. I kept shutting the door to the studio, and Steven was away. Being inaccessible made me so attractive. They sat wailing outside the door while I painted, and I only came out to feed them, eat, walk Zoey and sleep. Ah well.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoBarbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Josephine,

So glad you like it. Thanks for thinking of me.

XO Barbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Marilyn,

Yay Seth, He totally rocks. I should get his book. It sounds wonderful. I know he's written so many. Now I'm getting his blog posts on Facebook, and they're great too. He is inspiring. So are you.

XO Barbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Marilyn,

I actually have done a series on travel. It would be a big show now. So you are right. These pieces are adding to that. In New York I show three pieces, so they have to connect to make an impact.

XO Barbara

Portrait Artist

My photo
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I paint and draw on commission and for shows. To commission a portrait, or purchase one of my paintings please contact me at: barbara.muir@sympatico.ca
A major highlight in my career? Drawing Oprah Winfrey live via Skype for her show "Where in the Skype are you? Galleries: Studio Vogue Gallery, Toronto, Canada. The Amsterdam Whitney Gallery, New York City. Gallery at the Porch Door, Kingston, Canada. Your positive comments on this blog mean the world to me. I'd love to hear from you!