Slow down

Mother and daughter in normal light
almost finished. A bit more work
to do tomorrow
acrylic and gold leaf on canvas
36" x 48"
Barbara Muir © 2009

You know that feeling of looming deadline that ramps
up your adrenalin and makes you move through projects
at astounding speed. Does it? I've been living on the
edge of deadline since mid-March I think. There were
the marking deadlines, followed by astoundingly
brilliant, glorious, unexpected media deadlines, followed
by a hyper active work scene and a seeming tidal wave
of deadlines. I've been an adrenalin junkie -- constantly
on edge, constantly excited and living in the world of
"Wow, wow, wow!"

All this is wonderful -- but artists also need the opposite.
That is the ability to slow down, follow impulses, sort
things through and to think -- about painting -- or radical
as it seems, about nothing at all. Today in the middle of
many deadlines I took three hours off. Okay so it's late
and I'm still working, but those three hours, reading
my novel, reading your blogs, tidying, sitting outside
eating dinner watching the clouds rolling in from the
west and watching a robin dig in my neighbour's yard
for worms, made my day. My husband and I bought
groceries and sang on the way home at top volume.

Mother and daughter
with the flash hitting the gold paint and
gold leaf
acrylic on canvas
36" x 48"
Barbara Muir © 2009

I went back to work renewed. I've almost finished
my big painting, which I'll show you, and in the morning
I'll finish the hands and the background, and it will be
done. I worked on other paintings too and they're
coming along. And I plan to block off some slow down
time, tomorrow and the next day too. An excellent plan.

Have a hey-I-can't-now-I'm-slowing-down day.