Reality check

 Untitled (work in process)

Acrylic on birch panel

5 x 7 inches

Barbara Muir © 2015

I discovered this little blog I wrote in my
blog drafts and thought why not?  It's
Saturday and if I am working, hundreds
of thousands -- millions of other artists
around the world are too.  So here's
what I wrote the last time this thought
entered my head:

We are blessed to have a community of
kind, caring artists, and art lovers to bolster
us when we feel stymied, and inspire us
when we aren't sure what to do next.

Artists are not crazy, or fey.  We don't
live in a permanent fairy tale of
pretty colour and fantasy.  Even
if what we draw and paint is fairy
tale and fantasy -- getting it onto a
canvas, or paper, or board -- is
a job.

 What artists are is brave.  We continue
to work no matter what.  We do love
the creation of art, we do care passionately
about it.  But we are grounded in
the reality of day to day work to
produce it.

Luckily the blog world is supportive, even though
occasionally artists receive mean comments,
and recently a dear friend of mine has been criticized
for doing the very job artists are meant to do --
creating a body of work. 

But this infrequent unkindness is countered by
the incomparable encouragement and community that is
 so helpful in the art blog world and
cheerful stories like one I heard today of
an artist friend who sold everything she displayed
at her opening last night!

Here is the start of a little tulip painting.
 Meanwhile more tulips thrive in the studio
waiting to be painted.  Despite the heavy snowfall
today spring is definitely on its way.

Have a being-kind-to-the-artists-you-know day.