Shaniece
black marker on bond
10 x 14 inches
Barbara Muir © 2009
I throw out useless junk messing up my desk,
my studio and my house. I could use about three
months of similar effort, but when I chuck a
shirt I've disliked since I bought it into the
Salvation Army box, or shuffled a few pounds of
paper off my desk into the recycle bin, I feel
renewed. Now I can see my desk, my cupboard
is a bit less clogged and I am calming down.
When I'm working on a painting that presents
one or two challenges, and many paintings do --
there's a parallel in my mental sorting. My
biggest job, and maybe that's true of most of
us, is to let myself calm down, and realize, not
only that I can do what needs to be done, but
that I've solved similar problems hundreds of
times before.
Talking to that sometimes shy inner artist, and
conning her back to the canvas requires skill and
diplomacy. My friends in the art world certainly
help. Their constant reassurance buoys me up
when I feel overwhelmed. As soon as I decide
that it's easy, and there's no problem, that
becomes true. Besides it's a glorious day. I've
just solved some nagging painting issues, and
it's time to calm down and get back to work.
See you.
The model today is a young woman I've painted
many times. I love how she can adopt a mood
in a minute, and understands exactly what I'm
trying to do. She has posed for several of the
paintings in my Dance series, and is the model
for my two Poem paintings.
Have a feeling-in-charge-and-serene day.
