Saturday, April 16, 2016

Great show next Friday -- and how to calm down


I am lucky to be showing next weekend with my friend Gill
Cameron, who is an amazing watercolour landscape painter.
Gill and I put on beautiful shows, and with the help of our
families, friends and collectors, throw a super party on
opening night. We've been showing together for at least 10
years -- in the past few years in the beautiful gallery at the
Wychwood Barns near Christie and St. Clair in Toronto.
The gallery is on the far side of the barns, at the corner of Benson
and Wychwood Avenue.  Please come out and join us for
a glass of wine, and some wonderful art next Friday,
April 22.

One of the ways I try to stay on track when faced with
a truly busy week like this one, the last week in a 7 week
course I've been teaching, prepping for the show with
Gill,  another one at the end of the month, and planning
travel to New York in May, is by meditating.

I am so lucky that another artist friend, and wonderful
painter,  Janet Vanderhoof, encourages me to do meditation
on a daily basis.  That suggestion has contributed a lot
to my well being in the past few months.  So if you're
interested here are some of the short meditations I've
tried out that help.

After a lot of experimentation I know what I like in
meditation.  I need a voice with kind messages telling
me to breathe, and encouraging positive thoughts.  These
video guided meditations do the trick.  All of them emphasize
breathing.  I was truly skeptical about meditating until
I discovered the right guided meditations for me.  There
are thousands, so if my suggestions don't appeal to
you, try others until you find the right ones for you.
For me voice and cadence combined with the overall
message are all critical.

In fact they can transform a day so the positive triumphs.
I'm all for that.

Have a taking-care-of-yourself day.
When I wrote this last night, I forgot to link.  Here
are the links.  Enjoy!

This is a good one to listen to at the start of the day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nLJOeZ4uaI

This meditation is good for positive energy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZQ9GfmzR14

This is a good meditation to improve your mood,
and it's delightfully short:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RESIxDLae7M

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Good luck to you and Gill with your show weekend. Meditating is such a positive influence isn't it. Thanks for your suggestions of goodies that are your favs. xo

Barbara Muir said...

Thank you so much Sally,

Yes meditating is such a great thing. It helps us stay focused and
get through the inevitable lists with confidence -- which is a gift
for sure.

Love your work,

Barbara

cohen labelle said...

Thank you Barbara, for these lovely meditation links!
Congratulations and good luck next weekend on your show and all your upcoming shows.
You are a SUPER friend and artist!

Mucho, mucho, xo, Marcia

Barbara Muir said...

Thank you Marcia -- to this I add Vitamin D. It seems to improve my mood and
concentration if I take 1000 mg (is that right.?) twice a day. Skipped a week
because we ran out and noticed the difference! I hope you enjoy the meditations.
They can take the edge off and we artists need tha eh? Yep.
XOXOXOXOXO Barbara

verna vogel said...

Yes, we artist do indeed need ways to take the edge off! :) Thanks for the meditation links, they are great. And Vitamin D, yes, very important. Love your work & energy!

xoxo
:)
V

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Verna,

Thank you so much. I am your biggest fan. Yes the meditation
helps especially in the rare moments when you hit a wall.

I love what Danny Gregory says about that too in Shut Your
Monkey, more or less if you don't want to hit a creative
wall, don't give in to the belief that it exists!

XOXOXOXOXO 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!