Happy Canada Day and 10 reasons art makes you happy

 

 Inspiration

Acrylic on birch panel

4 x 6 inches

Barbara Muir © 2014

This is another one of

the people who appeared 

in a guided meditation I did

 a couple of weeks ago.  This is

Louise Hay, who never met me, but

played a huge part in teaching me

how to be a happy person today.

Happy Canada Day right off the top.  The
day is wavering between hot, hot sun and rain,
which is making people crave cottage life, and
flowers say Yes! Yes! Yes

 Me and Steven on the beach we love in Nova Scotia.

We are not there now -- but here in Toronto.  Not

sure when we're going, but can't wait!

10 Reasons art makes you happy!
1. You get to really see.  It is apparently true
that artists see more and see differently than
other people.  We are blessed with really seeing
what is out there.

2.  You get to make what no one has seen until
you make it.  Even artists who like to refer to
the real world and try to reproduce it just as it
is are always making something new.  What a treat!

3. You are entranced by the world.  Colour is
magical, simply drawing in a notebook is a
passion -- you live a blessed life.

4. You are always learning.  No one sane says to
a four year old that that superb painting he just
created isn't art. And that is true of every age.
Recently Dorothy Karkovsky, a 90 year old woman, 
 displayed fantastic art in New York.  Art is for life.

5. You become part of a world filled with
new ideas, excitement, experimentation and
brave expression. You make friends and spend
time with other artists who care as much about
colour and light as you do.

6.  You make people happy with your work.
As a portrait artist, I frequently paint either
people who want a portrait to record a moment
in their lives, or the people who people love.
When the painting is finished, collectors
usually react by spontaneously hugging me
with joy -- awesome feeling.

7.  You make yourself happy with what you
make.  It's a wonderful feeling to sit in your
studio and see the work you've created.  Each
painting brings back a memory and challenges
you -- wondering what you will try next.

8. You get to travel to superb places in the world
where you will either take photos for future
paintings, paint or draw on the spot to record the
moment, or exhibit your work and jet off to
the opening!  So much fun!

9.  You get to sell your work to people who
really appreciate what you do.  You are
living the dream -- doing what you love to
do and getting paid for it!

10.  You go to bed each night excited about
the next day and the work you are currently
doing.  You cannot get your work out of
your mind.  In your sleep you dream
about new paintings and how you'll handle
them.

Author's note: These are the happy aspects
of art.  I know that the opposite experiences
happen too, but this list is about happy.  ;-)

Have a thinking-about-what-makes-you-happy day.