The lessons continue
black marker on bond paper
8 1.2 x 11 inches
Barbara Muir © 2009
my friends, write messages on the lid. Today it was TGIF
(Thank God It's Friday). And I took that to heart.
I was so tired that I went home and crawled into bed. No energy.
I thought I'd better draw something, because I was
not up for painting. It's been a busy week. So I found
an old photo that my father took of my brother and me
when we were children. My father rarely spent time
with us, because rearing children was a mother's
job. But if my mother stepped out to a school meeting
he'd set up warm family scenarios, and my brother and
I would act them out. Here we are after school. I am
wearing my beloved gymsuit. At school I'd pull a
skirt and sweater over it, but in class it would look like
this, and my brother was in his standard plaid shirt
and corduroy pants.
The flowers behind us? The couch patterned in a
rather intense floral pattern. My brother and I really
did get along. Looking at the photo, I understood how
I made the leap from artist/writer to teacher. I was
always trying to form little classes of neighbourhood
kids when I was a girl. Very few people were interested
(imagine that). But my brother was a willing victim.
Which is probably why he's so smart today. Kidding.
In the picture I'm holding a magnifying glass and I
think I was probably lecturing him cheerfully on how
it worked.
Have a lets-get-some-rest day.
4 comments:
What I enjoy so much about this drawing is how well you've used line to define texture without ever losing the main image. In other words, you've got great textures and lots of energetic lines, but it isn't lost in busy-ness. I would have been tempted to make a mark on those arms and legs..and that would have been wrong.
Nice remembrance, too! And, I'm hoping that you are getting lots of healthy rest and relaxation.
Hi Melinda,
I drew this when I was feeling quite ill, actually in horrible pain. No idea why. I had finally taken some aspirin and was able to relax enough to draw. It did get more complicated than I wanted. But that's all I could figure out. My brother was actually infinitely cuter than what rolled off my pen, but ah well. I'll try again some time. Thanks for being so kind and encouraging. It means the world to me.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxBarbara
I love this. And great story of our young Barbara M.! XOXO
Hi Laurel,
Thanks so much. The much photographed young Barbara at 10. My father had one or two intense years of exceptional photography, then we moved, he lost his darkroom, and although he continued to take stunning shots, eventually he replaced that passion, with a passion for painting. So we have some heavily archived years and then the usual sporadic images.
XOXOXOXBarbara
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