Thinking about beauty, and an incredible Ideas broadcast

In the kitchen

Acrylic on canvas

36 x 36 inches

Barbara Muir © 

(available)

This is one of my favourite paintings, because the woman,
Jennifer was a lovely person.  I had just started painting in
acrylic -- switching from focusing on watercolour when
she posed for this painting.  I feel like we had very
few poses, maybe one or two, and it's a big work.  But her
rich expression and kindness shone through in the portrait.
To me kindness is a huge quality in beauty.  That and ideas.

Tonight on CBC Radio's Ideas program the theme was
about another kind of beauty -- what we have to do to
save the planet.  David Schweickart asked, "if there is
another way forward for capitalism -- one in which the
choice isn't between the economy and life itself."
Schweickart said that as bad as it is that our planet's
clmate  is warming up -- we are lucky because we can
track the problem today, plan massive change, and save
ourselves.

He pointed out that if the planet had reached this crisis point
150 years ago at the height of our use of coal, we would
not have known, because we didn't have the means to track
the earth's temperature, and we would not have had the
means to solve it.  He says that capitalism and consumerism
have brought us to this crisis point.

Still I found his optimism about our ability to fix it -- inspiring,
and perhaps I'd go so far as to say that it was beautiful.  He
had logical reasons to back up his beliefs.  So let's get going.
Maybe we can start in our individual kitchens, have friends over
and talk about what we can do.

Have a noticing beauty and taking action day.